


The Bucket List (NaLu Short Story)

by JustAGirlCalledMe



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst and Feels, Character Death, F/M, Heartbreak, I'm Going to Hell, I'm Not Ashamed, I'm Sorry, Love, Pain, Promises, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 07:01:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17862569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAGirlCalledMe/pseuds/JustAGirlCalledMe
Summary: He took her heart into his hands; turned into ashes; slipped through his fingers. It tore him apart, and he couldn't stand watching the magic turn into cinders. So when you pull away, don't let the memories blind you. All of the things you chase falling away behind you. Is something you can't replace; chained to the love that bonds you. Don't let the past remind you. She's the last of her kind. [Last of Her Kind, Alec Benjamin]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: Characters, some locations and mentioned plotlines belong to Hiro Mashima. The plotline of this story belongs to myself, JustAGirlCalledMe. This story can also be found on wattpad under the same name.  
> WARNING: Feels. Lots of feels. You have been warned. Do not look here for a happy ending. This is an extremely sad NaLu story.  
> AN: Readers, please be aware that I hold no position in the medical field and therefore several details concerning this story may be incorrect or inconsistent. I am aware of some of these errors, however I find no need to rewrite the short story for that sake. I beg of you to enjoy the story as it is; a short fanfiction that I have written in my own free time for both mine and your enjoyment. Thank you very much <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If I die young ..."

‘They’ve gotta be around here somewhere,’ Lucy Heartfilia whispered over her shoulder.

Natsu Dragneel nodded in response, and though the blonde couldn’t see him she trusted he had heard her. His enhanced dragon hearing was both a blessing and a curse. Right now, she was going to accept the former and ignore the latter. 

The two mages skulked along the bottom of the cliff, sticking as close to the rock wall as possible and out of sight. Shuffling sideways, Lucy kept a cautious hand on the pouch dangling off her waist to still the telltale jingle of her keys; surprise was a crucial element in this operation. 

Unfortunately, sneaking was never the dragon slayer’s strong suit.

‘Ne, Luce, why can’t we just go in?’ he whined too loudly, not for the first time. ‘Fists blazing, knock ‘em out before they realise we’re there.’

Lucy grit her teeth in annoyance but replied calmly, ‘Because I like my bones unbroken and myself not dead. Mira warned us these mages were powerful.’

‘Not more powerful than me.’

‘Natsu!’ the blonde snapped. ‘If you keep jumping in, one day you’re going to be beat because you didn’t realise what you were up against. You may have a thick skull but I’m a little less resilient. You  _ have _ to think things through.’

Natsu grunted, ‘Not exactly my piece of cake.’

A three hour train ride from the bustling city of Magnolia found the two Fairy Tail wizards on a mission to capture a large group of rogue, thieving wizards who had been bothering the very wealthy town nearby. The request was very desperate and so very, very loaded. Much to Lucy delight. Natsu had been forced to practically haul the starry-eyed stellar mage from the client’s mansion, she was too busy daydreaming of her paid rent.

Not long after, they’d entered the forest, a drizzly silence settled over them. As soon as they’d passed over the leafy threshold, the canopy cast them into a darkness much like the night, the threaded leaves of trees that towered too far overhead blocking out the lazy rays of the late afternoon sun. The forest reeked so strongly of decaying leaves, even the animals seemed to have vacated. 

Dead, reaching tree branches kept catching on Lucy's skirt, causing her to shriek and squeal every time something so much as touched her, including her teammate. Natsu was still nursing a bruised cheek from her last freakout and his unfortunately being too close.

Lucy huffed irritably and continued crawling along the wall, ‘Nothing is ever your piece of cake. Except charging straight in. Listen, this whole thing could be over in the blink of an eye if we plan carefully.’

‘Where’s the fun in that?!’

‘Ugh, nevermind, just keep quiet,’ Lucy grimaced. ‘I think we’re almost there.’

Natsu opened his mouth then, wisely, closed it again. One side of his face already ached somewhat from her punch; he had no desire to even out the pain.

Two more minutes of silent sneaking gave way to the gruffle of drunken men. Natsu smelled them first and heard them second, his nose twitching and eyes narrowing in anticipation. He snatched up Lucy’s arm, startling the blonde, but he slapped his hand over her mouth before she’d said a word.

‘They’re ahead,’ he whispered lowly, gesturing with a tip of his head.

Lucy nodded and took his hand, lowering then dropping it, ‘No charging; scout first. Okay?’

Natsu clenched his jaw and attempted to glare, but a strong look from the stellar mage cut him short. She was almost as scary as Erza when she wanted to be. Natsu shuddered; he didn’t need that image rummaging around in his head.

_ Ugh, too late _ .

Peeking between the ruffled leaves of a conveniently overgrown bush, Natsu and Lucy scanned the clearing for their targets. Over a dozen filthy, bearded men in rags and excellent golden jewelry surrounded a towering campfire of dying logs. The overpowering stench of unwashed bodies and bad alcohol assaulted Natsu’s senses, and he scratched at his nose impatiently

A round of cheers rose up suddenly and the mages clashed sloshing cups of booze together, conversing loudly in slurred voices. One of the mages got up at the edge of the clearing, apparently to relieve himself, and almost immediately face planted in the dirt, pants falling down around his ankles. A few of his comrades chortled, but they made no move for him.

Even so, power emitted from the group at a level that worried Lucy. The magic was breathable, hovering in the air like a bated breath. 

‘Natsu,’ Lucy breathed. ‘We gotta be careful.’

The stellar mage didn’t get a response. Heart pounding, Lucy looked over her shoulder, only to find an empty space where partner used to be. 

‘Urrrrrggggghhhhhaaaaa!’

Lucy slammed the palm of her hand into her forehead, ‘I told you to wait, Natsu!’

Too late to turn back, the thieving mages all stood sluggishly as their friend closest to Lucy was smashed across the clearing and into a tree by a flaming fist, falling down the trunk and into unconscious. Natsu stood in his place, alight with orange and red fire, grinding his fist into his open palm with his trademark fanged grin.

‘I’m all fired up!’ he declared in a low voice. ‘Who’s next?’

If he was hoping to scare them off, his plan was an immediate flop. Whether it was liquid courage or overconfidence, the mages charged him all at once with intoxicated battle cries. 

The first two mages had barely activated their magic circles before Natsu grabbed them both by their scraggly hair and smashed them into each other and into next week. He dropped them at his feet and stepped over them. 

The third mage who reached Natsu dealt a sloppy uppercut to the dragon slayer’s jaw, forcing him back a step. Natsu doubled over. To anyone else, they may have glimpsed victory. But to the people who knew, Natsu was charging his fatal breath attack. The mages wouldn’t know what hit them. 

‘No use sitting here,’ Lucy huffed, popping up from her hiding spot. She brushed a few stray leaves from her shoulders and out of her hair. 

Lucy attracted the attention of at least half the remaining group as she extracted a golden key from her hip pouch that began to glow at its mistress’ familiar touch. A torrent of familiarity washed over her, emitting from her grip and sending warmth cascading through her body. Waving the key above her head in a wide, golden arc, Lucy chanted her summons, the first wave of men approaching in 5, 4, 3-

‘Gate of the virgin, I open thee,’ she shouted, a deafening chime sounding through the clearing, ‘Virgo!’ 

The ground split open beneath two of the mages who dropped into its endlessness as the rosette spirit shot out of her hole and landed neatly on the ground before Lucy, bowing lowly with one hand lain dutifully across her chest.

‘Punishment, Princess?’ 

‘Not today; we got unwanted company,’ Lucy told her bluntly. ‘Please help, Virgo!’

‘As you wish, Princess,’ Virgo nodded as she disappeared, drilling into the ground flawlessly. From the corner of her eye, Lucy witness another two mages fall into the ground of “mysterious circumstances”.

‘Hey, boss,’ Lucy’s eyes flicked to two mages hovering nearby, one standing tall with a sense of purpose with a glimmering ring on every finger, and the other rather stout and snickering behind a hand that disguised none of his words. She had no idea whether that was purposefully or not. ‘She’s got celestial keys. Ya know how much those are worth?’

The tall figure nodded, a sick smile stretching across his wide face as he stroked his beard with a jeweled hand, ‘Get them.’

‘Ha,’ Lucy drew her whip in a fluid motion, snapping it threateningly in their direction. ‘Bring it.’

The short, burly mage, following his boss’ orders, charged the blonde. He held out his hands as if a ball were held tightly between them and a dull brown light faded into being. Lucy’s eyes narrowed as she pushed her foot back, raising her arm in a stance ready to strike or defend.

The mage skidded to a stop and slammed his palms on the ground, ‘Rocky Fist.’

Lucy’s eyes widened and she jumped backwards instinctively. Half a second later, a clenched hand formed of rock, dirt and clay spurted from the ground where she’d been only just before. Jarred by the rock magic’s sharp entrance, small pieces of rocky debris flew in every direction.  A tiny jagged stone flew past Lucy’s cheek, slicing it open with slight stinging sensation and the smell of metal. She barely registered it. 

'Fleuve d’étoiles!’ Lucy yelled.

The length of leather in her hand sparked gold and blue, bursting to life in a clash of the two colours. Pulling it back, she slashed at her opponent viciously. The whip extended like a curling tail; an extra limb that abided by Lucy’s every whim. It snaked, slithering across the ground, lunging for the mage’s torso, striking like a serpent. 

‘Rocky Wall!’ 

The mage erected his defence just in time for Lucy’s whip to slam into it. Sparks flew and a loud  _ crack _ pierced the clearing as the celestial whip snapped against rock. The sudden stop of force jolted the stellar mage and sent pain sprinting through her shoulder. Wincing, Lucy clenched one eye shut and dropped to one knee for stability, nursing her right shoulder joint. The rock held fast. Lucy scanned the area, waiting patiently for movement. 

_ Any second now… _

The rock wall fell in a moment like a curtain of water and the mage charged out before Lucy could react. He crossed the distance between them in seconds and hammered his fist, enclosed in a rocky shell, into her stomach. 

Time froze for a moment as the wind screamed from Lucy’s lungs and she coughed, a splatter of blood flying out of her mouth. Her chest burned with intense pain; Lucy numbly wondered if her insides had caught fire. 

Screaming, Lucy was forced back, flying up and through the air until she crashed into the jagged rock face of the cliff they’d been sneaking along barely minutes ago, now almost as high as the treetops. Pain exploded all over her back, not centering on any one point, but spreading and connecting and rippling and joining for one agonising shockwave. She could barely breathe. Was she breathing?

‘Princess!’

‘LUCY!’

Through fuzzy eyes, Lucy examined the situation in a split second; far below, Natsu and Virgo had taken almost every mage out and the thieves were now scattered all over the clearing in various states of consciousness. The only mages up and going strong were the leader and Lucy’s opponent. He launched a sideways cackle Lucy’s way and spun around to face a “more worthy” adversary. 

_ I’m weak _ , Lucy thought, her mind deadening. Then she fell.

Peeling out of the indentation the impact had made, Lucy tumbled from the cliff, half of the rock surface caving with her. Wind whistled past her ears, tossing stones and dried mud around that scraped and tore at every bit of exposed skin they could find. Flicks of red began to dot her body and clothing as the ground rushed up to greet her. 

Her body was twisting, turning, twirling. She was facing the sky, washing effortlessly as it moved farther and farther away. A cloud curled in a hand that waved goodbye. 

A soft patch of grass opposed the sickening  _ crack _ with which she landed. The agony that ricocheted through her entire being store every last morsel of oxygen, leaving her with none to cry out with. Instead, she lay there; broken, winded, and fading in and out of consciousness as amazing pain rocketed through every inch of her. All of the bones in her body were welded together with molten magma, contorted and petrified. 

Lucy felt her body seize up in a sudden spasm. Then it stopped, and everything seemed to fail her. She blinked, trying to see something… anything… 

Two blurs of pink were scrambling towards her in slow motion. Who were they again? It was too much to even think; the pain was stealing even that away. Lucy couldn’t even smell the earth beneath her, nor the blood that painted her porcelain skin. She couldn’t hear the crumbling rocks that fell like rain around her still form.

A hand reached out to grab her. She felt it close around her wrist and begin to pull, but it seemed she would not budge. She couldn’t feel her legs. But she could feel a heat; the warmth of that hand, she could feel it. Another pair of hands worked their way behind her head, cradling her gently. 

Above, the rest of the loose rock tore away from cliff. A torrent of stone was hurtling towards them. Event that, she could not hear. Lucy tried to say something, point, do anything at all. But she was completely still. 

Darkness plummeted down upon her, crashing like stones, until Lucy knew nothing more. 

 

It only took Lucy two seconds to fall, but then she fell again and again and again and again. 

Natsu knew the scream that ripped itself from Lucy throat and the look of twisted horror on her agonised face would haunt him; he would see Lucy fall in his nightmares every time he fell asleep.

As Lucy fell, blood streamed up around her, coming from a nasty gash on the top of her head, visible from even afar. Her body twisted at an abnormal angle, rigid with agony. Her hair - come undone from her half updo - was splashed with red as she turned. And when she hit the ground, she exhaled like all the life had gone from her. She didn’t move. 

‘Lucy!’ Natsu screamed, batting his opponent aside as easily as a tree branch. The rock mage hit a tree trunk so hard it snapped in half and the mage rolled to a motionless stop. ‘Lucy, hold on!’

‘We’re coming, Princess!’ Virgo shouted, urgency in her usually emotionless tone.

The last mage - the leader - scanned the clearing. Seeing the ground littered with his comrades and recognising the hopelessness of his situation, he slinked away, disappearing into a black cloud of nothing without a word. In the back of his mind, Natsu thought he deserved much, much worse. But Lucy was ten times more a pressing concern than revenge. 

‘Lucy!’ Natsu skidded to his knees by the rock face and brushed away a stone, grabbing her hand. Her eyes were glassy; unseeing. ‘Lucy, come on!’

‘Natsu-san,’ Virgo interrupted. ‘Princess needs help immediately.’

Shaking, the celestial spirit tucked the head of her owner into her palms looking unsure. Wide eyed and biting her lip, Virgo didn’t seem to quite know what to do now. Natsu had never seen any of Lucy’s spirits look so worried. That definitely worried him.

‘Can’t you dig her out?’ Natsu pressed, borderline hysterical.

Virgo couldn’t even shake her head, ‘With a pile like this, I could hurt Princess if I tried to get her out. Natsu-san, I-’ she looked upwards, and just in time. Her eyes widened, ‘Get out of the way!’

Barely lifting his head to see the incoming danger, Natsu was tackled by the other pink head as a second volley of rocks spilled from the impact crater. A shower of stones dived at them. They attacked the ground relentlessly, piercing the dirt and shaping craters.  _ Thunk, thunk, thunk _ sounded as boulder after boulder smashed against each other and fell with gravity. 

Even out of the crashzone, Natsu felt a few knock directly into his skull, while a few more created tears in his clothes. The dust cloud it caused was potent, bombarding his sense of smell.

Then as soon as it began, the slaughter was over. 

As the clearing quieted, Natsu coughed, helping Virgo sit up. They both scrambled to their feet, casting off stones and debris. Lucy was gone.

‘No,’ croaked Natsu. The pile of rocks had doubled in size, concealing the stellar mage from where they’d last seen her laying. ‘Lucy? Lucy?! Virgo, we have to get her outta there! Virgo-’

No answer. 

Natsu spun in a circle. Aside from the occasional groaning of unconscious wizards, no one was there, celestial spirit or otherwise. Virgo has vanished, back to the spirit world most likely. Natsu was alone. 

There was a heavy pressure on his knees as Natsu realised he’d sunk to the ground. He couldn’t control the shaking. His head in his hands, the world was spinning slowly. Disbelief, fear, anger; it all mixed in his chest, creating confusion. Everything was overpowering; the smell of vomit mixed with dirt, the cruel pounding of the setting sun, the cold sweat on his brow, the heavy heat in his chest. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that. 

_ Lucy needs me _ . 

His fists clenched on their own. 

Forcing himself up and to a sprint, Natsu managed to stagger over to the rock pile without his legs giving way. The avalanche of rocks towered above his head, ranging from pebbles smaller than his palm to boulders twice his size. Natsu knew, he’d have no trouble moving those stones, but if Virgo was right, and the whole thing came apart, Lucy would be in even more trouble. 

‘Dammit!’ Natsu choked out, slamming a fireless fist against the forest floor. Tears stabbed at the corners of his eyes, ‘Hang in there, Luce, I’ll get you out of there.’

He tried not to think about the fact she probably couldn’t hear him. 

‘Hold on, Natsu.’

A friendly voice accompanied a flash of gold, followed by another and another and another. Natsu looked over his shoulder.

‘Loke?’

Behind him in a fine black suit much more appropriate to an office job than a battlefield, the familiar face of the celestial spirit, Leo the lion, stood out underneath a roaring tangle of orange hair. His expression betrayed so much concern and fear. An upright bull with enormous axe sheathed against his broad back, and a towering white goat dressed in a smart tailcoat suit stood alongside Leo, and-

‘Virgo!’ Natsu shouted. ‘You brought them?’

Virgo gave him a small, unsupported smile, ‘Apologies for leaving, Natsu-san, but we needed more hands to get Princess out safely.’

‘Virgo did the right thing,’ Loke affirmed, placing a comforting hand on the virgin spirit’s shoulder. ‘Those rocks look precariously positioned; one wrong move and we could-’ his voice broke momentarily, ‘-crush Lucy entirely.’

‘We’ll doo anything for Loocy,’ Taurus sniffed, macho all gone. The bull’s eyes were downcast and watery. 

Natsu stood, hurriedly wiping his own tears away, ‘Thanks, Virgo.’ 

Virgo smiled shakily again. 

‘We came through the gate ourselves,’ Capricorn explained, ‘so that it wouldn’t put any more strain on Lucy-sama.’

Although Capricorn’s eyes were shielded behind fancy shades, his goat face was taut with worry, and he didn’t stand quite as tall as usual. Taurus mooed up at the sky to hold back tears. 

Loke nodded firmly at Natsu, who returned the gesture, ‘We don’t have time to waste.’

 

Although the prospect of another long train ride was ahead, Natsu marched solemnly back through the forest, quick enough that Loke had to struggle to match his pace, but slow enough that Lucy wouldn’t be jolted in the makeshift stretcher Capricorn had fashioned out of two sturdy branches and Natsu’s coat.

He glanced back. 

Lucy’s face was painted half and half with dirt and blood. The scrap of cloth around her head was already soaked with blood and spilling through the stretcher, leaving a trail of blood as they left the forest and dying her blonde locks an ugly crimson. From head to toe, there was barely any material left to cover her modesty. She’d also lost a boot. If she were conscious, Lucy would kick and scream and complain about being stared at.

But she was not conscious, Natsu reminded himself. Her usual scent was heavily masked by the metallic smell of blood, no matter how hard Natsu’s search for it. And although they’d confirmed she was still breathing, he wasn’t sure for how much longer. 

They needed to get back to the guild. They needed Wendy. They needed help. 

‘Just hang in there, Lucy,’ he pleaded, shutting her eyes in silent prayer. ‘Please, hold on.’


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bury me in satin ..."

_ Beep _ .

Annoying. What was that annoying sound? What was sound? What was annoying? What did it mean to be annoying? What did it mean to  _ be _ ? 

_ Beep. Beep _ .

It was there; rhythmic, constant, repetitive. Why wouldn’t it stop? Every time her consciousness drifted, the sound brought her back, grounding her. It wouldn’t let her sleep. Why couldn’t she just sleep?

_ Beep. Beep. Beep _ .

She could hear it. But if she could hear, why couldn’t she see? Why couldn’t she smell, touch and taste? What had become of her?

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep _ .

Lucy finally opened her eyes to something blue. Blue was a colour, wasn’t it? Yes, she told herself. Blue is a colour. The colour of … 

‘Happy,’ she wheezed.

Lucy was alarmed with how gravelly and airy her voice sounded, almost as if she had no breath left to speak with. The simple word travelled up her chest, creeping its way through her throat to be heard like stony snake, shredding and searing everything on it's way out. 

Nevertheless, it reached the ears of the exceed currently nestled, sound asleep, in the crook of her neck. Happy stirred and rubbed his wide eyes sleepily, seemingly half awake as his blurred vision slowly fell on the blonde. 

‘Lu-Lu-Lushee?’ he yawned. His ears were flopped over sadly, as if he expected no response. 

‘It’s me,’ Lucy breathed roughly, barely. ‘Happy, it’s me, Lucy.’

The exceed froze. Then, his ears rose slowly, oh, so slowly. His eyes brightened, immediately welling with tears and spilling over his cheeks onto the bed. Careful of her injuries, Happy attempted to wrap his short paws around Lucy’s neck, making sure not to squeeze too hard, and cried onto her bare collarbone.

‘LUSHEE! LUSHEE!’

Distracted, Lucy gradually lifted her right hand to touch his head, brushing his fur back comfortingly as she huskily hummed that it was okay and she was there. She tried to sit up, but couldn’t. Her limbs would not respond to her call and the mere thought exhausted her. Her arms weighed a thousand tons of lead.

‘It’s okay,’ she said.

‘I’m so glad!’ the exceed exclaimed, dampening her neck with his tears that flowed like waterfalls from swollen red eyes. ‘Lushee! You’re okay!’

‘Happy,’ Lucy managed, every syllable tearing at throat, scratching at her insides like a rusty scalpel. ‘Where are we?’

Happy sat back on his hindquarters and wiped his eyes, searching her face for anything of a smile. When he found a tiny spark in her brown eyes, he sighed, warming up a little inside.

‘Magnolia Hospital,’ he answered in a small voice. ‘I’m sorry, Lushee! I should have gone on the mission with you and Natsu! I-I just wanted to go on Wendy’s mission so I could impress Carla!’ He buried his fuzzy face in her neck again, wetting it more with renewed tears, ‘It’s all my fault!’

‘Oh, Happy,’ Lucy felt a hot stinging in the corners of her eyes. When she blinked, the warmth of salty tears dropped down her cheeks, sliding vertically down onto the pillow placed comfortably beneath her. ‘It’s not your fault. Not at all.’

The exceed would not be calmed. Happy cried his tiny heart out as Lucy shushed him for a while. His cries were piercing the silence and her heart. When he stilled a little and his tremors became more like shakes, Lucy lay her head back as far as it would go, listening to the steady  _ beep _ of the heart monitor that had woken her as she cast her gaze around what little of the room she could see.

It was definitely a private room, with a section cutting into the rectangular space that Lucy assumed would be a bathroom. A vertical position didn’t allow her much in the way of examining her environment, but Lucy could see the back of a tall chair at the foot of her bed and at least four different machines monitoring her vitals on her left. Everything was white, radiating a sterile feeling that was reinforced by the smell of lemon soap. The top of a bunch of flowers, recently picked, decorated the very top of her vision. 

Mostly, she saw the ceiling. It was white, and patterned. A chaotic kind of stripey. There was a grooved line that went that way, and it intersected with another line that was going the opposite way, and both of them crossed another line that was bent on an entirely different angle. The entire ceiling was a jumbled maze of lines that replicated her thoughts extremely well.

‘-you if she wakes up,’ a familiar, but drooping voice said as the sound of a door opening into the hospital room echoed in Lucy’s ears like someone tapping fiercely on her eardrums.

Breathing as hard as she could, Lucy blinked at the ceiling. A shuffle of feet sounded, then stopped. Silence reigned for several heartbeats, as counted on the machine beside her. 

‘Doc … Doc! Nevermind that! Come back! She’s awake!’

One footstep pounded on the ground, just one, and then a flurry of pink smothered her vision, a bulky weight pressing against her chest and stomach, but not so hard that she was gasping for air. The sudden appearance startled her, and Lucy fought back a wracking cough that was shoved from her lungs. A heavy warmth enveloped her instantly and she smelled ashes, making her drowsy, almost sending her to the land of sleep once again.

'Lucy! Oh, Mavis, I am so sorry!' Natsu babbled, his words becoming a mixture of sounds and sobs that the stellar mage was forced to decipher with mild difficulty. 'I didn't listen to you, dammit, I should've listened to you. I should've waited, to form a plan, and I didn't think-'

'What's new about that?' Lucy chuckled, but the scraping of her throat turned it into a raspy cough that she couldn’t keep in, painful to the ear and more painful to the blonde’s throat. 

Natsu winced and held her tighter. Lucy lay a hand gently upon the small of his back, not really finding the strength in her arm to lift it any higher. So she allowed his shaking body to rest on hers as he and Happy cried and hugged her. 

The clucking of heavy footsteps announced another presence in the room and Lucy guessed it was the doctor Natsu had been speaking to outside. She smelled more lemon hand soap. 

'Lucy Heartfilia, had an accident, eh?'

'Uh, y-yes, sir.'

Natsu clearly wasn't moving anytime soon, so Lucy managed to push back some if his pink locks enough to see a kindly man of about 60 in a white coat and small round glasses, a clipboard clutched loosely by his side. He raised it to examine the contents of a few papers, eyes moving up and down from Lucy to the document regularly. When he was done, he sighed and removed his glasses, pocketting them. He looked tired. 

‘I don’t believe in sugarcoating,’ the doctor announced bluntly. ‘It feels cruel.’

Lucy nodded very slowly; the smallest of movements that her neck would allow. The doctor waited for her acknowledgment before he moved on, checking her charts as he went. 

‘Your fall was no small matter,’ he continued. ‘I can assuredly say we have fixed up most minor ailments. Your head may ache for a while, but the worst of that wound has been healed. Your wizard friend was very quick to heal all of your cuts and bruises, even healing a few small breaks. However those rocks crushed nearly all the bones in both your legs. Alone, they would heal over time. But …’

The doctor spread his hands but didn’t elaborate. Natsu and Happy were still sobbing on her so Lucy continued to move her hand in soothing circles along the boy’s back while she shifted her chin to hold the exceed tighter. A sinking feeling pooled in the pit of her stomach.

‘But,’ Lucy prompted wearily.

The doctor grimaced and stepped a little closer to the free side of the bed so she could see the pained look in his eyes. There was something over that sheen of pain, though, like a barrier. It was the look of someone who’d seen too much; too much pain, suffering and death. And not just seen it, but forced to deliver it; forced to relay horrible news to family and friends and see them suffer worse than he would.

In that moment, Lucy developed an unspoken respect for all medical staff, from doctors to nurses and everyone in between.

‘But your legs weren’t the only problem,’ he continued. ‘The rocks also severed nerves in your lower spinal cord. The effect is known as paraplegia. The damage is too severe to be healed by magic. I’m sorry to say, Miss Heartfilia, that you will be paralysed from the waist down.’

Lucy blinked, unable to say a thing. Her blood ran cold, colder than anything the dragon slayer on her chest could warm. 

Her dry lips formed the word ‘paralysis’ but no sound filtered out. She felt like she should be crying, but nothing came to her. There was no painful stinging in the corners of her eyes, nor any blurry vision that usually accompanied tears. Why wouldn’t they come? She was paralysed for the rest of her … 

‘D-Doctor,’ Lucy croaked. ‘Will … Is this paralysis … Is it permanent? Will I be like this for the rest of my life? Is there no chance of recovering?’

The doctor looked down at his clipboard, but his emerald eyes never moved; Lucy knew he wasn’t reading the data on the document. Natsu buried his face deeper into her chest, clutching onto the blankets laying on top of her for support, and Happy cried just a little harder, if that was possible. 

‘Normally I would say that anything is possible, but I have one last piece of bad news, Miss Heartfilia,’ the doctor mustered up his courage as he lay a gentle hand on the stellar mage’s shoulder. ‘It seems you’ve suffered a fatal blow. Through examination, we’ve discovered that several broken ribs have punctured both your lungs, causing severe internal bleeding. You may have noticed or start to notice a heavy feeling in your chest. Your lungs are slowly filling with blood. Your young wizard friend was able to slow the process down, but, I’m afraid you don’t have long left. Eventually, it will stop having an effect and the magic holding the damage at bay will fail. I am sorry.’

Lucy nearly stopped breathing right then and there, ‘I’m going to die?’ 

‘I’m sorry, Lucy!’ Natsu shouted, not lifting his head. His shout blew hot air across her skin like the harsh wind of a desert storm.

The doctor lowered his gaze respectfully, ‘I’m truly sorry. We estimate you have a week, at most, before the magic of your friend ceases to work, and you’ll drown. We humbly suggest that you get your affairs in order. There is… there is nothing more we can do for you.’

Lucy closed her eyes, ‘Th-thank you, doctor. Could you … could you leave us, for a while?’

‘Of course. I have to organise some documents for you, but I’ll see to it that things be set so you can spend your time at home, and I’ll come by a little later. In the meantime, my name is Dr Shino, if you need me,’ the doctor told her, his footsteps the only sound in the room as he exited, the door snapping shut quietly behind him, echoing into the silence it left. 

There was no more crying now, just quiet. Natsu was frozen stiff as a board, holding her, his hands clenched tightly on her shoulder and in her sheets. Sniffles enhanced the intensity of the room as Happy finally managed to hush himself.

‘Happy,’ Lucy said gently. The cat looked up, ‘Natsu.’

The dragon slayer didn’t move. Completely still against her chest, Natsu barely breathed. 

It was his fault; he knew it. So many things went wrong on that mission, and every single one of them was his fault. He jumped into the fight without thinking, he left Lucy by herself, he allowed Lucy to get hurt, he didn’t save her when she fell; he didn’t save her when the avalanche came down; and now she was dying.

‘Natsu,’ Lucy repeated, more firmly.

Natsu started shaking; quivering. She was going to blame him, wasn’t she? She was going to yell at him about how it was his fault she was going to die, it was his fault for everything. He would yell at him.

And worst of all, she was going to cry. He couldn’t bear it when she cried. Her eyes would shine, but not the way he liked. He liked it when the light bounced off her eyes and made them glisten, illuminating her smile. They looked like stars. He hated it when it was tears that created a wall of sparkling water over the chocolate under her eyelids. 

He couldn’t look up; he couldn’t look her in the eye. He squeezed his shut. He didn’t want to see her cry.

‘Natsu!’

The forceful shout scraped a painful cough from Lucy’s throat and she shuddered, clenching her shoulders in pain. A harsh sob escaped Natsu, but he did not look up at her. Lucy sighed.

Natsu went stiff as something soft touched his cheek - the tips of her fingers. Lucy’s palm cupped his cheek warmly, but Natsu still couldn’t bring himself to lift his head; couldn’t bring himself to see the pain tainting her brown eyes, causing them to darken and lose that sparkle, that smile of life. 

Lucy forced his head up instead, pulling up his chin. She was lying so terribly still in bed and somehow -  _ somehow _ \- she was smiling. Smiling at him. 

‘Thank you for doing your best,’ she whispered softly, removing her hand to run her fingers through his hair. ‘You did your very best.’ 

‘Lucy,’ Natsu felt a pressure, a burning wetness behind his eyes. He couldn’t stop the despair and the shame of the last 24 hours from overflowing and the tears all came, ‘I’m sorry, Lucy.’


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Lay me down ..."

Natsu leaned back to settle Lucy against his chest, freeing one hand to unlock the door to her apartment. He bumped it open lightly with his hip. Ever so gentle, Natsu carried a paralysed Lucy and a distraught Happy in her lap through the door sideways, before kicking it shut with his heel and pushing his back against it without a  _ click _ . It echoed through the room, and kept echoing in his head. 

‘Arigatoo, Natsu,’ Lucy said thankfully, tearing apart the silence and tiredly laying her head under his chin where it fit like a puzzle piece from a different puzzle. 

‘No problem,’ Natsu replied in a numb mumble.

Between Lucy’s limp hands crossed in her lap, Happy cast his gaze between his two best friends sadly, round eyes bobbing and bubbling with tears. The poor exceed had barely stopped crying and he was now on the verge of cracking again. Lucy noticed and rubbed in between his ears affectionately. Happy leaned into her comforting touch and purred. 

Natsu watched them with a tightening sensation crushing his chest. His breathing shortened without either of them noticing and he blinked back a pressure behind his eyes. 

Natsu sat down on Lucy’s bed, the stellar mage pressed flush up against him as he piled all her pillows on top of each other at the head. Satisfied that they were stable enough, he stood again and set Lucy lying down on the bed very carefully, her head elevated by the cushions so she could see and her hands gently stroking the top of Happy’s head.

Leaving the two of them there on the bed, the dragon slayer walked a few feet away, staring blankly at the wall with his back to them, deep in thought. He lowered his head until his hair fell over his eyes, allowing the shadows to grab at them and pull them into their darkness. Fingers were twitching at his sides. Snapping his hands together in front of him, Natsu tried to stop them shaking, failing as they only began to tremble more. 

‘Who knew you could be so kind and gentle when you want to be?’ Lucy chuckled lightly. Already her voice was beginning to sound very forced, her tone very heavy, but it was losing the croaky, dry quality. ‘If-’

‘I should be in prison,’ Natsu interrupted suddenly.

Like a bomb had gone off in the room, the effect was instantaneous. The chitter chatter of the people beyond the window was suddenly louder; every breath like a gust of wind roaring through an echoing tunnel. Lucy and Happy didn’t need a dragon nose to take in the somber ashen smell spilling off the dragon slayer; the tips of his hair occasionally caught the light, flashing like they were alight. 

Lucy froze, her upper body coming to a complete halt, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Natsu?’ Happy called out, worry for his best friend lacing his tone with a watery impact that said he was soon going to cry again.

Natsu clenched his fists and flexed them again, repeating the gesture over, every muscle in his body tightening on instinct as his chest became heavy. He didn’t answer Lucy and Happy, and continued to silently curse himself. That moment replayed under closed eyelids. Lucy fell again, and again, and again, and again. 

He breathed deeply to calm himself, inhaling the scent that overwhelmed him whenever he entered Lucy’s house, and the one he oddly craved whenever she wasn’t around; the intoxicating combination of vanilla and strawberries. 

What would he do when he couldn’t smell that anymore; when it no longer existed?

‘Natsu!’ Lucy demanded firmly. ‘Look at me. Now.’

The urgency and finality in her voice moved his body of its own accord to look at her. Lucy had shifted on the pillows, turning her head and shoulders towards him. Happy sat, still, in her lap. As before, she wasn’t crying. There were no tears there, just a solid stare made of stars. 

‘What the hell are you talking about? And don’t avoid the topic,’ she warned, pointing a finger at him threateningly. 

Amusing the thought of Lucy trying to threaten him as she was now would be to entertain, the reasons and practicality of the situation were snatching at Natsu’s mind. Every time she fell, he was standing there, doing nothing. He watched it. Like a bystander at a crime scene, he watched it happen and did nothing. 

‘I’m practically a murderer,’ Natsu growled, angry; angry at himself, angry at the mages, angry at the cliff, angry at the world. ‘I screwed up, and you’re going to- you-’ Natsu faltered, tripping over his own words. He looked down, ‘And it's all my fault.’

‘Natsu, we talked about this already; it isn’t your fault,’ Lucy line of sight burned through his lowered head. ‘Look at me!’ He did. Bright fury was focused at the end of his gaze. ‘It was an accident, and if it’s anyone’s fault, its mine.  _ I _ didn’t try hard enough, and  _ I _ wasn’t strong enough;  _ I _ wasn’t focused. And in the end it was an accident. You had nothing to do with it.’

‘But … I just … dammit!’ Natsu let his legs slip until his knees clashed against the floor. He let his fist slam hard against the ground and a sob rushed out of his lungs. The broken board by his hand went ignored.

Happy shot Lucy a worried look which she returned. Her expression was concerned, but also steady. The exceed examined her face, noting the upturn of her nose and the slight twitch of her lips. She watched Natsu, unable to move, as he curled himself up, shoulders shaking as all the tears he’d pushed back at the hospital were let loose down his face. 

Happy allowed his wings to spring free behind him in a flurry of ivory feathers. He took flight and soared easily over to his partner, resting his blue paw on the mage’s bruised fist. He landed lightly and tucked his wings together.

‘Natsu,’ Happy whispered croakily, wiping his eyes with his free paw. ‘Lushee doesn’t blame you, and I don’t blame you. So why are you blaming yourself?’

Because,’ Natsu replied in a hollow voice, not looking up but raising his hand to cover his face, salmon locks falling over his features, ‘I was wrong, and I didn’t think. And now Lucy is badly hurt.’

Lucy felt her heart nearly give in, simply hearing the pure  _ agony _ in his voice; the honesty and blame he placed on his shoulders alone for her condition, and the pain he felt because of it. 

‘My chest,’ Natsu mumbled, ‘feels really heavy. Like I’ve eaten way too much fire. It’s really hot, too. It doesn’t feel normal. It's making me sick.’

Happy bit his lip, ‘That’s guilt, Natsu.’

‘Guilt?’

‘Guilt,’ Lucy put in quietly from her perch. She lay back on the pillows and looked up at the roof above her. This one wasn’t patterned; nothing to distract her; nothing to pull her away from it all. ‘Guilt is a feeling when someone feels responsibility or remorse for something bad that’s happened.’ 

‘I-I know what it is,’ Natsu muttered. He placed a hand on his chest, grabbing at the material of his coat and balling it in his fist, ‘Guilt… I don’t like it. But I deserve it, huh? I deserve it for what I did to you.’

Lucy sighed, ‘Dense just took on a whole new level with you. We said it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything to me. It-was-an-ac-ci-dent.’ 

Natsu hung his head, ‘How do I make it go away?’

Happy tapped his chin with one azure paw, resting his elbow on the other as he frowned thoughtfully. Natsu watched his small partner with high expectations. Lucy bit her lip, sighing.

‘People usually make guilt go away by fixing the problem,’ Happy reasoned, perking up. A few seconds later, his ears fell again and he slumped over, ‘But … I don’t think you can fix this.’

Natsu didn’t say a word, nor move or even breath, to Lucy’s eye. She watched him disintegrate with a heavy heart.

In the bottom of her stomach, Lucy felt a gurgling sensation as though somebody were churning her insides as simply as butter. With every churn, her stomach rolled uncomfortably and pushed what little she’d recently eaten back the way it had come, staining the back of her throat with a metallic taste. Lucy breathed deeply to quell the pain. Hearing her troubles, her keen eared partner winced, his shoulders visibly clenching and hunching up to his ears. 

Lucy thought of something; a solution.

A piece of paper - ripped out of one of her notebooks and meant to be transcribed to someplace more permanent, buried deep inside the mess that was the drawers of her work desk - harbouring a neatly printed list of mindless wishes that Lucy had written out so many months ago now. It struck her thoughts as quick as the rocks fell. Glancing at Natsu, Lucy internally debated for a moment whether revealing her deepest desires was worth the embarrassment. 

The puffy, red-stained cheeks of her dragon slayer confirmed it for her; it was worth it. It was always worth it. What did she have left to lose, anyway?

‘Natsu,’ she called across the room. ‘You wanna fix things?’

Natsu coughed, then sniffed, wiping his face with his head down, ‘Y-yeah.’

Lucy smiled sympathetically, ‘I have a way for you to fix things.’

Happy jumped into the air and hung there like an ornament on a Christmas tree, ‘You do?’

The dragon slayer’s head flicked up, hope dawning on the onyx in his eyes, lighting them up; dark coals in a lit fireplace. His features brightened and he scrambled up, tripping in his haste on the way to Lucy’s bed, but he skidded to a stop beside her and grabbed one of her hand’s in both of his large, coarse ones.

‘Really, Luce?’ he asked, eyes wider than saucers. ‘Tell me! Tell me how to fix it! I’ll do anything!’

‘D-don’t misunderstand,’ Lucy stuttered, suddenly nervous. ‘It won’t fix… me. But, it might help with the guilt.’

Natsu’s face began to fall, the corners of his mouth trembling in confusion. His hands stiffened around Lucy’s. Bringing her free hand across, she pat his gently, mustering a little courage herself. 

‘In my second drawer,’ she began at a whisper, ‘there’s a piece of paper. It’s gonna say “Bucket List” at the top. Get that.’

Natsu obeyed without hesitation. His body moved as if it barely need instruction. Dropping Lucy’s hands, he was across the room in three steps, kneeling before her desk, fingers wandering for her drawers. Unceremoniously, he tugged out the wooden drawer second from the top, Happy sprouting his angelic wings and flying gracefully over to direct Natsu as he began rifling through the endless stacks of parchment.

‘Jeez, Luce; lot of paper. Some of this writing even  _ I _ can’t read.’

‘So much for good handwriting,’ Happy snickered. 

A tic of annoyance struck her, ‘Hey, it’s meant to be messy. It’s organised chaos.’

‘Our place is organised chaos,’ Natsu bit back teasingly. ‘This is just a mess.’

‘Aye!’

Lucy smiled; that sounded a bit more like the Natsu and Happy she knew. 

The smile grew into a chuckle as the boys’ banter continued, but the sound quickly caught in her throat and turning into more of a choking sensation that Lucy barely managed cover up. She cleared her throat to cover the falter, but it seemed to fool neither Natsu nor Happy. Glancing over at her suspiciously, they only continued looking when she waved them on.

‘Got it,’ Happy cheered, seizing said paper and leaping up happily. Natsu high fived his little buddy with a grin none of them had seen since before the mission. ‘Lushee, Lushee; we got it!’

‘Nice,’ Lucy gestured them over. ‘Come here, and I’ll explain it.’ 

The boy and his cat were by her side in seconds. Happy handed her the paper and Lucy read it once over. Natsu watched her face darken in colour slightly, turning the tiniest portion red. The vanilla in the room grew a little more potent, almost masking the strawberry tinge. But before he could say a thing, Lucy huffed, blowing a single strand of blonde hair from her eyes.

‘Okay, this is a bucket list,’ she told them, ‘or, the start of one anyway.’

Happy jumped from his perch on Natsu’s shoulder back down to Lucy’s lap, plopping himself down, ‘What’s a bucket list?’

Lucy considered her words carefully, ‘Well, it’s a list of things a person wants to do before they die. I started writing this so that, one day, when I was really old, I could look back at it and see how much I’d done. Sort of so I could die happy, knowing I’d lived a good life.’ Lucy’s smile didn’t collapse but it wavered very dangerously, ‘It was supposed to fill a whole page and more. I never finished writing it.’

Natsu frowned, ‘So, how does this help?’

Lucy lay down the paper in her lap and touched the side of his face with one hand, cupping Happy’s face with the other. Both leaned into her caring touch, never wanting to part from it.

‘It’s going to help, because if I can do some of these things, I can die a happy person,’ Lucy explained. She closed her eyes and smiled cheerily. ‘See?’

Natsu took the piece of paper and read through a few of the first items that Lucy had deemed as her highest wishes, ‘But … you’re still going to …’

‘I’m still going to die,’ Lucy confirmed sadly. She swallowed down a lump in throat, though whether it was tears or blood, she never did know. ‘But this will make me happy. I have a week left, Natsu. Can you do this? Can you do this, for me, so I can die happy?’

Natsu looked her in the eye. 

Some of their guildmates had commented on Lucy’s dark eyes, many preferring bright blue or green over “muddy brown”. Natsu never did understand. Sure, they were dark, but they were deep, like looking up into the night sky and knowing that whatever you saw was too far away to dream of and too amazing to comprehend. And somewhere in there was a star or three. How could he ever hope to deny that spark, that fire?

Natsu pounced, promptly enveloping Lucy in a hug, pinning her to the bed as he curled his arms around both her and the pillows, Happy also being caught up in the motion and scooped up with a yelp, squished between the dragon slayer and the stellar mage. Pulling them closer still, the dragon slayer tracked down their scents and lost himself breathing in the perfect combination of vanilla, strawberry and seasalt that only he found loveable. 

Lucy chuckled, ‘St-still sore, Natsu, sorry, back up a bit.’

She raised her palms to meet his shoulders, nudging him forward with a gentle push. Happy was squashed against her breasts, but somehow she didn’t mind. A single tear escaped her careful composure, tracing a glistening silver track down her cheek. 

Oh  _ Mavis _ , how she loved these two troublemakers. 

‘Anything, Luce,’ Natsu whispered. ‘I’d do anything.’

Happy sniffled, ‘A-aye!’


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "On a bed of roses ..."

When Lucy woke up, she wasn’t alone.

A comfortable, hot pressure was spread across her chest and along her side. She felt warm and toasty all the way from the top of her head down to her waist. Then, it simply ... stopped; nothing, nada, zip, zilch, blank. She was as unfeeling as a doll.

Natsu was still snoring beside her, anything but lightly, with one arm draped over her rib cage, a tiny trail of drool slipping from the corner of his mouth which hung open in a rather unattractive manner. Lucy giggled anyway. Curled up between them like a ball, Happy was sharing the warmth Natsu naturally provided and the loving touch of the stellar mage. A snot bubble rose and fell like a balloon inflating and deflating. 

The close proximity of them both caused the smell of ashes to drift across her face. If she could never move again, she decided, this is how she'd rather stay.

_ I would never have wished for that before _ , thought Lucy numbly.

Normally, Lucy would shove both of them off her bed. Normally, Lucy would shout until her face turned red and the ever-cheery faces of the boy and the cat coaxed the slightest of smiles from her. Normally, she would get up and storm off, fuming. But nothing about her felt normal any longer.

Lucy closed her eyes, feeling pressure behind them building up, stinging the corners with tears she didn’t want to shed. She would not let them fall. She was going to die, so why not accept that? There was nothing left to do now; nothing left to save her.

'Mff,' Lucy realized she must have moved slightly, because Natsu started to stir. 'O-oi, Luce? You awake?'

'Yeah,' she replied quietly. She tried to hide the forced quality enriching her voice, and the pain that accompanied speaking, blinking rapidly to rid herself of unshed tears. 

Dragon hearing caught on better than any human could, and Natsu frowned as he sat up, casting that expression down on her with the smallest smile she’d ever seen him force. Lucy blinked at him curiously.

'You're not sad today,' the blonde noted, having to crane her neck up to see him. 

Natsu shrugged, 'Nah, I'm sad. I'm pretty much dying inside. But I promised that I'd make you happy, right? So how can I do that if I'm sad? I'll do my best to stay happy, for you, Lucy.'

Lucy’s mouth opened, then closed, then opened once more only to shut again quickly. Her heart fluttered warmly for the boy who always seemed to be right there by her side, especially whenever she needed him - just one time he happened to be a little bit too late… 

She shook her head, and Natsu chuckled at her fish like face as she struggled to form functional words.

'So,' Natsu grinned, 'do you wanna start your list today?'

'List? O-oh, yeah,' Lucy agreed, still somewhat shaken from his reply (and her own misleading thoughts). 'Right; the list.'

Natsu tipped his head, 'You don't wanna do it?'

'No, I do!' Lucy amended. Her voice jumped an octave in a heartbeat and equally as fast came crashing back down. 'It's just ... I-I don't know.'

The eternal position of laying down was already beginning to frustrate her, as Lucy managed to stretch her neck just enough to scratch the back of her head.

'Nya!' came a whine from below and between them.

Lucy's shout woke the little exceed who yawned loudly, rubbing his paws into his eyes. Flopping into an upright position, he blinked sleep from his vision.

'Morning, Lushee. M-m-morning, Natsu,' Happy managed mid yawn. He sighed heavily as if sleeping required a great effort. 'What are we doing today?'

'Number 5 on Lucy's list,' Natsu recalled. 'Which is,' Natsu leaned to her bedside table and snatched up the parchment, 'skydiving?!?!'

'Yay!' Happy cheered playfully. 'Flying!'

Lucy perked up instantly, 'Oh yeah! Mama and Papa showed me pictures once of one of their first dates! Papa took Mama skydiving.' Lucy laughed genuinely, remembering her parents faces as they pointed at their past selves in a dusty but pristinely kept old photo album. 'Their faces were priceless!'

Natsu made a face not too different to the ones she remembered, 'Then why do you want to go?'

Lucy laughed herself into silence and answered with a daydream smile, 'Because it was such a sweet memory. Papa and Mama said it was one of the greatest moments of their lives. I've wanted to skydive ever since.'

An image flashed to mind; a picture taken by a fellow diver. Lucy's father's arms were tightly wrapped around her mother's waist, the blonde - much younger back then - caged inside his loving grasp. For once, there was no mixture of emotions in the eyes of her parents; no excitement and laughter, no fear of falling; only pure, undiluted love. Even through a photo it was clear that they knew someone was there to catch them whenever they fell. 

Outside of dreamland, Natsu and Happy attempted and failed to follow Lucy’s gaze as she smiled off at nothing. The dragon slayer snapped his fingers in front of her glazed expression.

'Oi! Earthland to Lucy!'

‘Hmm?’ Lucy turned to her head to a worried looking Happy and Natsu. ‘I’m okay. I’m just, remembering.’ She rubbed in between the exceed’s ears, causing the cat to purr softly, and looked back at Natsu, ‘Are you still okay with doing this?’ 

Natsu stared back with an unnaturally hard expression, painted with seriousness, ‘I promised, Lucy; anything.’

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, ‘Then let’s go!’

‘But, you still have to get dressed, Lushee,’ Happy told her.

The stellar mage allowed her eyes to flicker downwards to her chest - it was all she could actually see without being able to sit up. She was still dressed in the generic whitey blue gown from the hospital. The itchy material rubbed against her breasts, informing her of her lack of bra. But for some reason, Lucy wasn’t concerned. 

‘Oh, yeah,’ she fumbled one hand on her bedside table, feeling for her spirit keys. ‘Happy, could you get my keys? I’ll summon Virgo.’

Lucy heard the telltale tinkle of her spirit friends and felt calm wash over her. The room didn’t feel so empty for just a moment. It was filled with people; friends, all smiling for her and waiting for her to get better, cheering her on with promises of waiting. Happy’s paw placed her pouch into her open palm very carefully.

‘Here you go, Lushee.’

Lucy smiled, ‘Thanks, Happy.’ The stellar mage had barely begun sorting through them to find the key of the maiden when a firm hand suddenly clamped over hers, preventing her from achieving her task. ‘N-Natsu?’

Natsu almost  _ glared _ at her, or was that look aimed at her keys? Whichever it was, the dragon slayer was uncharacteristically not happy as he gently pulled the pouch away from her and placed the spirit keys back on the bedside table. He wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze, for his was stony and fierce with a blazing fire of jumbled emotions. 

‘No magic for you,’ he said bluntly. ‘Doctor said it would undo pretty much everything Wendy did to slow down your … ugh …’

‘Death?’ Lucy supplied quietly.

Natsu didn’t reply. 

Happy could feel the tension crawling up in his small body. He held his elbows in his hands as he shivered, feeling the intense cold in the warm room.

‘Natsu,’ he said. ‘Maybe we should help Lushee.’

‘Ah,’ Natsu nodded in agreement. ‘I was just thinkin’.’

Lucy hummed softly, dazedly. Natsu and Happy looked at her strangely; that obviously wasn’t the reaction they were expecting. When the stellar mage looked back at them, she frowned. Then, slower than slow, her face turned beet red and her eyes widened. She tried to sit up, to back away, but seemed to forget her condition and only fell back down again.

‘H-help me?’ she stuttered. ‘A-as in-’

‘Help ya get dressed,’ Natsu finished. ‘How else do you think you could do it?’

‘I-I don’t know,’ Lucy admitted wearily. ‘Maybe ask Mira, or one of the girls? Just-’

‘Lucy,’ Natsu’s tone was low and tainted with a slight growl, practically startling Lucy, and definitely frightening the poor exceed. ‘Stop being so sensitive. You should know by now I ain’t gonna do anything. Just trust me, would ya?’

His expression was so tight that she couldn’t look away. His eyes had completely captured hers like a dark beast, cornering an alarmed deer in its claws. Fear of her best friend froze her solid. No, it wasn’t  _ of _ her best friend; it was  _ for _ her best friend. She was so afraid that she would die, and he would be left believing that she didn’t trust him.

She could not live with that. She could not die with that.

‘Okay,’ Lucy whispered. ‘Okay.’

Natsu’s glare slackened, rolling back into a soft smile. He nodded and, without a word, snaked his right arm under her knees and wound his left around her back. He picked Lucy up and hovered there for a minute, allowing Happy to jump up on to the blonde’s lap where he’d apparently claimed his official territory. 

Feeling obliged, Lucy leaned her head into the dragon slayer’s neck, placing a cold palm against his exposed chest; a sign of trust. Natsu nearly dropped her at the sudden coolness, but maintained a firm hold. 

In front of her wardrobe, Lucy instructed Happy on which clothing to grab, shouting over Natsu who grinned childishly while pointing at a -  _ ahem _ \- scandalous outfit Erza had given to her for her birthday. Instead, Lucy insisted on a pair of jean shorts and blue strap top, pairing it with her black boots, which Happy all fetched with a roll of his eyes. 

‘Pervert,’ Lucy accused with a halfway grin, slapping his shoulder lightly.

‘Am not,’ Natsu replied, however his grin said otherwise. Was he messing around, or was he seriously teasing her?

‘Aye,’ Happy agreed, though whom he was agreeing with remained unclear.

Natsu sat Lucy down at her dining room table, pushing the chair out for room. As Happy lay out the her garments of choice, Lucy wondered.

‘Natsu,’ she started, ‘what have you told the guild? What do they know?’

Natsu’s expression sunk momentarily, ‘They know most of it; all about the accident and stuff. Wendy knows the details better than I do.’

The end of the sentence lingered as if the story wasn’t finished. 

‘And?’ Lucy prompted.

Silence. As he lay down the last few items, Happy flipped his stare between his partners, wanting to butt in but not knowing what to say. After a long, drawn out moment, Lucy couldn’t stand it anymore - metaphorically, of course. 

‘Alright, let’s get dressed.’

The true test of trust came next.

In the light of the main room, Natsu could truly see the faint pink coating her cheeks and felt her embarrassment flood the room, so he sunk down in front of her to a squat and tipped his head to the side, staring up at her.

‘You trust me, right?’

Lucy breathed deeply and nodded once, ‘I trust you.’

Natsu grinned, letting his fangs show. For some reason, whenever he did that, a brighter light sparked like orange amongst the brown of her eyes for just a second. Her scent grew stronger as did the pink of her face.

For modesty's sake - and Lucy’s insistence - he helped her with the shorts first. Lucy flinched when he touched her leg, but an upwards glance calmed her racing heart and reassured her of his harmless intentions. Natsu wondered why she was so jumpy; did she really think that he would take advantage of his teammate in such a terrible state?

The dragon slayer lifted Lucy’s feet through the leg holes are worked them up gently. He deftly heard Happy mumbled things in Lucy’s ear as he perched on the back of her chair. The exceed spoke to her about, of all things, fish. Something about mackerel being too expensive. But at least it put the stellar mage more at ease, allowing her to chuckle lightly and relax. 

The room grew even warmer once Natsu put his hand on the small of Lucy’s back, lifting her up off the seat lightly so he could slip the shorts over her rear underneath the hospital gown. He could see, from the corner of his eye, Lucy trying to continue the pointless conversation with Happy, even as her face grew redder and hotter. How was she managing to warm the room like that? Even Natsu was beginning to feel unnaturally hot, especially around his face and neck. 

_ Weirdo _ , he thought affectionately. 

Natsu leaned down next to her head and whispered in her ear, ‘Arms up.’

Lucy would’ve jumped several miles if she’d had the ability to move her lower half, ‘Holy Mavis! Natsu, don’t do that!’

Natsu snickered, ‘It was too quiet. And tense. Loosen up.’

‘Literally,’ Happy agreed, winking.

Lucy rolled her eyes and pushed the exceed over softly, ‘Oh, shut up, cat.’

‘I’m not kidding though,’ Natsu said. ‘You wanna finish dressing or somethin’?’

‘Y-yeah, right.’ 

Lucy turned that weird shade of pink again. Was she sick? Natsu gripped the bottom of the gown as she lifted her arms and it slipped up, the soft, silvery material sliding easily up her body. As soon as it was off, Lucy’s arms were down and covering her chest, her head lowered to let some of her hair shelter her shoulders.

‘Pass me that,’ Lucy instructed, nodding at her bra.

Happy did the honours. Lucy, persistent as ever, snapped at them both to turn around while she clipped it up. Although they appeared to do as asked, she caught both of them attempting to peek.

‘Perverts,’ she huffed. ‘Turn around for once and be gentlemen.’

‘Natsu doesn’t know what that is,’ Happy said, nodding gravely. 

‘I do too!’ the dragon slayer retorted, slamming his hands against his waist. ‘It’s, uh, its when, um-’

‘Don’t bother,’ Lucy grunted, still trying to do up the item of underwear. ‘You’ll - urgh - exhaust your limited - umf - brain cells.’

‘Oi.’ 

Natsu sulked with his arms folded, but another frustrated noise from Lucy shifted that expression into one of concern. He slipped another peek, but of a different kind.

‘You sure you got that?’

Lucy grimaced, ‘Yeah, I … got … it,’ her fingers slipped and the bar snapped back out of place. ‘Ugh; or not. I just can’t reach,’ she sighed. ‘I can’t sit up properly.’

Natsu rolled his eyes, ‘Learn to ask for help, Luce.’

‘Says he who never needs help.’

‘Yeah, yeah, shaddap.’

Natsu ignored her previous warnings and spun around fully, dipping to one knee behind the chair and taking the straps from the stellar mage’s fumbling fingers. Lucy squeaked and Natsu stuck his tongue between his teeth, deep in thought trying to work out the strange functions of women's clothing.

‘Na-’

The dragon slayer shushed her, ‘Keep quiet, eh? I think I … Ha! Got it!’

Happy floated over to inspect Natsu’s handiwork. Facing his partner with a deadpan look, the exceed sighed, ‘It’s not straight, Natsu. You mixed up the clips.’

Purple lines struck themselves down the right side of Natsu’s face as he slumped to the floor in a dark cloud of depression, ‘Dammit.’

Lucy chuckled lightly, ‘Idiots.’

Five minutes, an extended explanation and a lot of help from Happy later, Lucy’s bra was correctly hooked up and the three of them managed to pull the strap top over her head easily enough. They worked the boots onto her feet, pushing and ignoring Lucy’s interruptions until she gave up on trying to tell them about the zips on the side. When they finally collapsed in exhaustion and Lucy’s piece was heard, they just stared at her in disbelief.

Lucy couldn’t believe how much fun dressing herself could be until she relied on these two idiots to do it for her. Never before had she imagined herself having to be clothed by Natsu and Happy, let alone being okay with it. But the energy and smiles they bore were infectious. 

‘Natsu,’ she piped up, cutting into their babbling. ‘Happy; arigatoo. I don’t know what I’d do without you guys.’

‘You’re welcome, Lushee!’ Happy cheered, jumping up onto her lap and pushing himself into her chest, wrapping his stubby arms as best he could around her waist. Lucy rubbed his head. 

‘We’re here for ya,’ Natsu rested his hand atop her blonde locks and smiled at her from side on. ‘We made a promise. We’re gonna make this next week the best one you’ve ever had.’ 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Sink me in the river ..."

Unfortunately, the nearest skydive was not in Magnolia. More unfortunately for Natsu, it was a short train ride away; i.e. four and a half hours of torture away. 

After dumping Lucy ceremoniously on a cushioned bench beside the window in a back compartment - Natsu had paid slightly extra for a more luxurious compartment, unbeknown to his partners - he flopped himself down next to her. Happy followed them in and squashed himself on the seat between the both of them, quite content.

‘Ugh,’ Natsu groaned, leaning forward with his elbows slack on his knees.

Lucy rolled her eyes, ‘Come on, Natsu, the train hasn’t even started moving yet.’

‘Aye!’ Happy agreed happily. ‘You’re pathetic, Natsu!’

The dragon slayer looked up, bloated cheeks filled with bile he fought to hold back. Happy giggled and took flight, dancing away easily and landing over by the window sill. Natsu raised a shaking hand and lashed out weakly, trying to swat the cheeky exceed away, but misjudged and toppled over onto the lap of the stellar mage.

Lucy yelped, ‘Hey!’

‘Fufufu,’ Happy chortled, placing his paws over his mouth and narrowing his eyes. ‘You liiiiiiiiiike each other.’

‘Happy!’ Lucy snapped.

Natsu didn’t say a word; he was too busy keeping his stomach down. Despite the insistent teasing of the azure exceed, Lucy wasn't able to pull him up again and Natsu wasn't likely to move, so they stayed that way. Unable to sit up properly and grab the ungrateful kitten by the tail, Lucy settled for huffing gruffly and crossing her arms. Her legs hung over the sides of the bench like those of a lifeless doll.

‘Wish I had wings like you, Happy,’ Lucy piped up suddenly, daydreaming as she peered out at the unmoving station beyond the glass pane of the window. ‘Then it wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t walk; I could just fly.’

Happy stopped laughing shortly and dropped his arms. He turned to look at her with the most serious face the exceed could muster, ‘I don’t want you to have wings, Lushee.’

The blonde blinked, ‘Why not?’

Happy jumped off the window sill and landed on her lap. His mouth set in a frown, he sat down, looking up into her face. Lucy noticed the soft feel of his fur in a way she never had before and felt tears prick once again behind her eyelids.

‘Because,’ the cat replied, ‘if you had wings, you wouldn’t be Lushee. Lushee is Lushee, and I don’t want you to change.’

Lucy smiled, a watery quality causing her lips to waver in a good way, ‘Thank you … Happy.’

Happy sniffed and grinned in return, ‘Anytime, Lushee!’

The train started to move. Lucy jerked forward suddenly, unable to keep her balance, and Happy bounced off her lap. The two Fairy Tailers hit the ground, one after the other, the small blue cat stuck firmly underneath Lucy’s oversized bust. He squirmed uncomfortably and flailed around, yelling for air. 

The stellar mage felt the oxygen leave her lungs in a single burst, liquid racing up her lungs and painting the walls of her throat with the taste of blood. Barely holding down her innards, Lucy moaned long and painfully. Finally she managed to swallow. 

‘L-Lushee!’

‘I’m sorry, Happy,’ Lucy apologised genuinely in a wheeze, grimacing as she tried desperately to raise herself off the ground, to no avail. ‘I just can’t … move.’

Lucy gasped sharply as a hand snuck itself underneath her midsection and another picked Happy up easily by his pack. The blonde was lifted until her feet no longer touched the ground and she was thrown halfway across the shoulder of their saviour.

‘A-arigatoo, Natsu,’ Happy praised. ‘Lushee’s heavy.’

‘And here you were saying I’m perfect the way I am,’ Lucy grumbled.

Natsu groaned in reply, setting the arguing teammates back down on the bench - Lucy against the window and Happy replaced on her lap - before laying himself down beside them, purple and puffy faced. Lucy chuckled and pulled his head onto her lap next to Happy, holding the two of her best friends together.

‘Just quit arguing, you two,’ Natsu mumbled almost noiselessly. 'Worse than me an' Ice Princess.'

Lucy and Happy glanced down at the sickly boy turning slowly from a purple to green. The train raced over a bump and Natsu rolled onto his side, his eyes bulging along with his cheeks. He groaned in pain, his pupils folding into the back of his head. In a moment, his hand spontaneously caught fire in a brief flicker of light, spilling ash into the air, and Happy and Lucy burst, filling the compartment with the scent and sound of laughter.

 

There were four magic flier runways in Fiore. One, in Crocus, belonged to the royal family. The second was under the authority of the Magic Council and located who knows where - apparently it was top secret. The last two were for tourist purposes, most famous for their amazing scenic tours and memorable skydives.

Magnolia’s neighbour, Soline, was renowned for its fantastic tourist spots, exquisite malls and markets, and its exclusive magic flier runway. The town itself was small in comparison to many others around Fiore, but the sheer mass of people clogging the walkways and roads gave off the opposite impression. 

The Fairy Tail mages, however, were not headed for the city. The three snuck out from the hustling crowd and made for the plains along the outskirts where the loudness of Soline was nonexistent, and the peacefulness of pure nature began, filling the atmosphere with a gentle quiet and natural fresh air.

‘How ya going, Luce?’ Natsu asked the blonde, jostling her a little to keep her from falling asleep in his steadily tiring arms.

‘Hmm?’ Lucy’s eyes flashed open, but closed halfway once she’d taken in their surroundings. ‘Mm, I’m good.’

‘Natsu, how much further?’ Happy whined, perched on the dragon slayer’s head.

Natsu growled softly, ‘As far as it is.’

Lucy laughed and pushed her head back against his shoulder, ‘You sound just like a papa telling his kid they’ll get there when they get there.’

Natsu pouted, ‘I ain’t no papa. And Happy ain’t no kid.’

‘Lucy right for once!’ Happy shouted in agreement. ‘I am a kid! You should treat me nicer!’

‘I heard that “for once”!’

The two males laughed good naturedly as Lucy harped on and on at them. Despite her angry ramblings, a smile adorned them all, sneaking a not-so-subtle happiness behind every snapped word and each annoyed look.

The playful banter continued right up to the doors of the runway center that was practically lodged in the middle of nowhere; a small, bricked central building where appointments would be booked and that one grumpy attendant would sit behind the counter. 

An arm each beneath Lucy’s knees and back, Natsu carried her and his kitty-cat hitchhiker into the center. 

The inside was way too clean for the dragon slayer’s taste; the white walls and light wooden floors felt sterilized, and the lack of decoration reminded him of the hospital, the very place he’d ached so desperately to leave. The air was a different kind of clean compared to that of the outside, giving off a sharp and crisp feel; an artificial quality. Lucy must’ve felt the same because he felt her frail body stiffen and shift uncomfortably in his arms.

He lowered his head to her ear, ‘You’re fine.’

Lucy turned up to smile at him gratefully, but she didn’t say a word; she didn’t need to. 

As predicted, an annoyed looking girl sat behind the raised counter on a - surprise! - white swirly chair, wearing a starch jacket that contrasted against her ebony hair pulled back from her face in a tight ponytail that revealed the entire of her forehead. Her face was pastel and plastered with makeup so heavy Natsu was surprised she could keep her head up. He marvelled her apparent neck strength. 

He cleared his throat and the attendant looked up "politely" from what appeared to be a magazine; seemingly Sorcerer Weekly, ‘How much is two to skydive?’

‘Three!’ Happy hissed by his head.

Lucy pulled on his ear, ‘You can  _ already fly _ !’ 

Clucking her tongue, the attendant flicked her mascara painted eyes over to Lucy nestled comfortably in Natsu’s arms, arguing quietly with an annoyed exceed, ‘Is she okay to fly?’

Natsu tensed. Lucy bit her lip.

‘I-I’m paraplegic?’ Lucy admitted, but it was more of a question with her tone of voice. She decided to blame the blood building in her lungs over her own nervous stutter. 

The attendant raised a delicate eyebrow and sighed, speaking as if reciting an unexciting chapter in a mildly interesting book, ‘Any person or persons supporting debilitating injuries or disabilities that may for any reason cause harm during a dive may not be permitted to engage in such activities for-’ 

Lucy’s face slowly fell during the course of her speech, a sinking weight in her chest that had nothing to do with her injury. Natsu felt his arms grow heavy and gazed down at his happily borne burden who had unwanted glimmers like crystals in the corners of her eyes. He interrupted the pasty girl with a snarl.

‘To hell with all that,’ he snapped. Lucy gasped but he ignored her. ‘My friend is… she’s not gonna be around here much longer. I promised that I would fulfill her five biggest wishes before she … leaves. She wanted to skydive, so she’s going to skydive! I don’t give a shit what you say she can and can’t do!’

Lucy blinked. ‘Natsu,’ she managed in a whisper, a lump forming in her throat.

The attendant stared with her mouth falling open in a near perfect ‘O’, her slate blue eyes as round as saucers. Her lips formed the word "dying" very, very slowly. She stood up shakily, pressing her palms on the counter for balance before taking up a communication lacrima, swallowing down nerves.

‘I’ll talk to the boss. Maybe he can allow some, ah, special circumstances.’

 

‘From a train, to a magic flier; what’s next?’ Happy sighed, riding shotgun beside the pilot.

Lucy and Natsu were in the back, strapped into the airborne magic vehicle, the latter with his eyes rolled back, arms crossed as he fought to, for the second time that day, control his motion sickness.

A young boy, the pilot's helper, stretched comfortably out on the floor in front of them, looking way too relaxed for someone so high up. His eyes were closed and he had a complicated looking headset poking out of his tangle of wild, jungle green hair. 

The magic flier had no doors and the outside air rushed in, blowing past the mage’s faces in a cool, rushing breeze that smelled of salt, fresh peppermint and freedom. She breathed deeply and relished in the view; a million mile drop to the earth below which was, from this height, a mossy green carpet spread over hills and plains. 

The pilot began calling back instructions through his headset, fuzzy and muted sounding, ‘Jonny? Start setting them up.’

The young boy, Jonny, peeked open an eye wearily, ‘Righto, cap’n.’ He yawned, sat up and clapped his hands on his jean covered legs, ‘Alrighty, boy back there,’ Natsu look up roughly and Jonny grimaced cheerfully, ‘Jeez, you look ‘bout as right as my grandma at a tea party. Well, whatcha gonna do,’ he grabbed a strap riddled backpack from the side of the magic flier, ‘is put this on.’

Natsu choked and Lucy pat his hand comfortingly, ‘What is it?’

‘Your parachute,’ Jonny explained. ‘This thing stops ya from smashing your face when ya land. See this string here? You’re gonna wanna pull that when I tell ya. But for now just chuck it on. I’ll explain the rest as we go.’

Too sick to complain, Natsu did as he was told, stumbling over to the boy and taking the pack from him. Jonny helped him with the straps, tightening certain parts and loosening others, wrapping lengths around his legs, stomach and shoulders. He worked like a well oiled machine, Lucy decided in awe, with only his goal in sight.

‘Done,’ Jonny declared. ‘Kay, girlie, you’re gonna be strapped right in front of ya boyfriend using the same harness; safety reasons, of course.’

‘She’s not,’ Natsu’s cheeks quivered dangerously with sick, ‘urgh, m-my girlfriend.’

‘Right, right,’ Jonny rolled his eyes, unconvinced. ‘Whatever she is, she’s gonna be right in front of ya. I’m diving with you’s, so you shouldn’t need’ta panic. Mr Not-Boyfriend; come ‘ere and I’ll set’cha both up.’

Jonny worked as efficiently as before, with grace one would assume belonged to a girl and the arm strength of a much older man. Sitting Natsu back down, Jonny heaved Lucy’s arm gently over his shoulder, his breath hot and minty on the back of her neck. An uncomfortable sensation knotted her stomach up several times over and she tried move a little away without seeming rude. 

Jonny laughed into her ear, ‘Relax, girlie, I’m not into chicks.’ Lucy stopped struggling, stunned, as the boy continued, ‘But you’re boyfriends pretty cute, eh?’

Lucy went a brighter red than Erza’s hair after it had been freshly washed and dried several times over, ‘He-he’s not my-’

‘Boyfriend?’ Jonny winked. ‘If that’s the case, I might have to steal ’im, huh?’

Lucy thought her face couldn’t get any redder than the requip mage’s head; she was so wrong.

He pat her shoulder, hard but gently, ‘I’m kidding, girlie. I wouldn’t steal him from ya. You’s look inseparable.’

Lucy’s mouth flapped open and shut like a fish out of water, but only incomprehensible sounds emerged, causing Jonny to chuckle as he lifted her into Natsu’s lap, taking careful consideration of her limp lower limbs. He snatched up the slack straps hanging by the dragon slayers sides and did them up over Lucy’s chest, firmly clipping the two of them together. 

Natsu couldn't see Lucy's face, which was a good thing for the blonde because their close proximity had coloured her face a deep shade of red that would've given even Erza's hair yet another run for its money. Lucy's cheeks were warm as she tightened her fingers around the straps pressed hard against her shoulders. Unfortunately, though the dragon slayer was blind to her blush, Jonny easily caught her eye, winking cheekily and raising his eyebrows in a brief quirk.

Natsu only saw the young boy’s action and a growl resonated deep in the base of his throat. Lucy's skin tingled where she felt the vibrations of his animalistic noise, only succeeding in deepening the scarlet on her cheeks. 

'Alrighty,' Jonny grinned. 'You ready to dive?'

Natsu, still sick of course, could only nod. Lucy answered a little more enthusiastically with an anxious, 'As I'll ever be.'

Happy popped up over the front seat, spreading his intricately woven, feathery wings with pride. Jonny's eyes widened, but the boy didn't comment on the flying, talking cat, mildly impressing them all, if they did say so themselves.

'I'll be there too, Lushee,' he promised. 'If the parachute doesn't work.'

Lucy smiled and pulled him in for a quick hug, 'Arigatoo, Happy.'

Jonny positioned the both of them on the very edge of the magic flier, legs hanging over the open air as they peered at the ground past the clouds. The wind whistled loudly at them in the language of the air currents, telling tales to the breezes and gusts of a pink haired boy and a blonde haired girl strapped together as they dangled out of a hovering magic vehicle.

'When I say three, ya jump, 'kay?' Jonny shouted over the roaring atmosphere. Happy, Natsu and Lucy nodded in sync. 'Good! Ready, set, three!'

'What?!' Lucy screamed in disbelief. Was he  _ serious _ ? 

Too late; she was falling. 

Air slapped at her face, stretching back her skin and peeling away at her hair. She yelled; she yelled in fear, she yelled in exhilaration, she yelled in happiness. She was flying! Really flying!

'Luce!' Natsu could barely hear his own voice over the wind; it sound tinny and distant. But Lucy's scream collected in his eardrums, loud and clear. 'Are you okay?'

Lucy thought Natsu said something, but couldn't hear, so she shouted back, 'This is the best!' and hoped he heard. She spread her arms wide, feeling the push of air against them in a way that she couldn’t feel her legs.

This must’ve been what her parents were talking about; pure undiluted happiness. The love her mother and father had for one another, turning into trust; the unspoken promise to catch one another if they fell. Lucy recalled the days where that vow was valid; the happiest of her life.

The ground was rushing up to meet them, but it still seemed so far. Endless emerald fields rolled out as far as the eye could see. An ocean stretched somewhere off to the west - or possibly the east? - and bombarded the wizards with the overwhelming smell of salt.

_ That's where that came from _ , Lucy thought.

Two specks were free falling not too far away. One, dressed similarly to Natsu and Lucy, was a calmly catapulting Jonny, as relaxed as a nesting bird with a similar look as he spread his arms eagle style and soared as gracefully as he moved. The second dot was blue and blurred; a mess of ears and a tail with a splash of green and white.

Happy wove circles around them, cheering, 'You can fly like me, Natsu! Lushee!'

Lucy saw the exceeds mouth move, but sound was disqualified in the air; she heard nothing but the caressing breeze around her face and lapsing against her skin. Rumbling laughter echoed from the depths of her chest and was ripped away from her the moment it passed her lips.

She took a chance.

'Natsu! I think I might love you!'

No reply. Figures.

Lucy laughed wildly as they descended, safe in the knowledge that her secret was still a secret.

Natsu may not have heard the words she spoke, but that carefree sound of an angels purest laugh the whole world was blessed with. To the dragon slayer, however, that sweet laughter belonged to his ears, and his ears only. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "At dawn ..."

Natsu was cooking breakfast.

‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing?’ Lucy asked doubtfully, watching the dragon slayer move hesitantly about her kitchen, looking for utensils he clearly didn’t know all the uses for.

‘Uh, yeah!’ he said somewhat confidently. ‘I gotta cook for me an’ Happy, don’t I?’

‘I cook for us, Natsu,’ Happy sighed, not bothering to even open an eye. ‘You always burn down the house.’

‘Not inspiring me with confidence for my apartment,’ Lucy mumbled. 

Lucy cursed her lack of movement, firmly stuck in her chair at her dining room table. Furthermore, Natsu had pushed the chair in until her stomach lightly bumped the wooden table, effectively trapping the paraplegic. Happy wasn’t any help, curled up in front of her with a fish in his arms, using his backpack as a pillow.

Natsu was doing his very, very best, continuously glancing over at the blonde. He promised to make her happy, and that didn’t stop with her bucket list. Happy wasn’t fully correct - mostly correct, for sure, but not fully - but that didn’t mean Natsu wasn’t making himself nervous by being around a great deal of flammable objects in Lucy’s pride and joy of an apartment. Losing her home was definitely not part of the plan to make this the best week of Lucy’s life. 

_ Toast _ , he told himself,  _ can’t be  _ that  _ hard to make _ .

That was before he started cooking. With his back to the stellar mage, Natsu was desperately trying to prevent the smell of smoke from wafting back into the dining room where his two partners conversed ever so casually. Wouldn’t want to give Lucy the impression that he was toasting the bread with his own fire, now would he? Aheh, aheh heh … 

Yeah, he was doomed. 

‘Natsu!’ Happy called impatiently. ‘Are you done yet?’

‘Yeah, yeah,’ Natsu snapped. ‘Comin’ alright?’

He heaped the hopefully toasted pieces of bread onto one of Lucy’s less precious china plates, carrying it over and setting it on the table with several jars of butter and spread. Lucy raised an eyebrow at the food, but seemed to deem it edible as she accepted a piece, which Happy helped coat in a thick layer of strawberry jam.

‘So, what today?’ she asked cautiously, taking a peek on the underside; it was burnt black. Knowing Natsu tried his best, she ate it anyway and managed not to pull too horrid a face.

Happy answered through a mouthful of so-called-delectable fish, ‘Number 4 on your list, right?’

‘Yeah,’ Lucy nodded distractedly. ‘I can’t remember what it was though.’

‘Natsu,’ Happy poked his partner. ‘Go get Lushee’s list.’

‘Hmm?’ Natsu blinked rapidly, shaking his head to regain his focus. ‘What was the question?’

Lucy raised an eyebrow and Happy rolled his eyes. Natsu panicked; what had he done now? He studied both of their faces for any signs of a prank but found none.

‘Were you even listening, Natsu?’ Lucy asked. Natsu shook his head slowly and Lucy sighed, ‘What were you doing then?’

_ Watching you _ , he wanted to reply. But for some reason, he doubted she would appreciate that.

For reasons much further beyond the dragon slayers comprehension, Lucy intrigued him. Not in the way Erza and Laxus intrigued him, with their amazing strength and power, and his curiosity as to how much he would need to train to finally beat them. 

No, Lucy intrigued him in an entirely different way; why did he always feel like he needed to protect her, why was he so determined to make her so happy, and why in Earthland did he spend so much time  _ looking _ at her without even realising it?

The perfect lines of her body like she was sculpted from marble by a god, her soft figure in that petite pink dress, the careful sweep of her thighs curving down into her calves and coming to a rest at her feet nestled in silver slip ons, her barely brushed hair cascading down her back like waves of golden sunlight; why, oh, why did he love all of that so very, very much? He just couldn’t understand.

And her scent; oh, Mavis, her scent. It was growing fainter by the day. Each morning, he would wake up and the smell of vanilla and strawberries would make him hungry. Hungry for what, he didn’t know, but it wasn’t food. This hunger coaxed noises from his throat that he didn’t recognize, noises that reminded him of Igneel; dragonesque and beastlike. It’s fading hurt him. 

‘-tsu! Natsu!’

He blinked.

Lucy huffed, ‘Wow. It's a miracle if we can get you to focus on a mission for longer than five minutes. Must be something real impressive to hold your attention for so long.’

_ Oh, it is _ , Natsu thought.

‘Eheh, sorry,’ he scratched the back of his head. ‘Daydreaming. I’ll go grab the list.’

Walking away, Natsu tapped the side of his head like it might be broken, muttering ‘damn thing’.

Lucy’s bucket list was folded messily on her bedside table, courtesy of the dragon slayer. He picked it up, opening it as he returned to the table and skimming down to item number four. He read, slowly grinning. 

‘What?’ Lucy frowned, growing nervous. Natsu expression was showing way too much fang for her liking. ‘What is it?’

Natsu chuckled cheekily, showing the paper to Happy, ‘Since when did you wanna be a performer?’

‘Fufufu,’ Happy’s paws jumped to his mouth, his gaze flickering like lightning from the stellar mage to the words written on parchment;  _ 4\. Perform My Song on Stage _ . ‘Lushee’s keeping secrets, Natsu!’

Lucy flushed, ‘N-no! Its not that! I-’ 

Her voice lowered and she glanced downwards at her feet. Subconsciously, her brain tried to turn them in, to tap her toes together - an anxious habit - but they never responded. 

_ Right _ , she thought bitterly.

Natsu grin faltered, ‘O-oh, hey! We weren’t try’na tease you. Just, you never told us.’

Lucy bit her lip, ‘It was embarrassing. I don’t have a good voice. But, whenever I watched Mira, she looked so happy. I talked to her once, and she said it was the best feeling. Like nothing mattered. So, I tried to learn a little guitar and write songs like she did. But, I was so bad that I didn’t tell anyone. I forgot I put it on my list.’

‘You know guitar, Lushee?’ Happy asked innocently, all traces of devilry wiped away from his saddened face. 

‘N-not as good as Mira or Gajeel,’ Lucy admitted. ‘But I taught myself a few chords and wrote a really simple song with it. Just a tune that repeats itself.’

_ Slam _ .

Natsu’s palms hit the table harshly. Happy jumped so high his wings automatically sprung outwards to support his sudden weight. Lucy reacted similarly, almost toppling off her chair. She squealed as the rickety wooden structure faltered and tipped, preparing to spill her onto the floor until a pair of strong hands steadied it.

‘Sorry,’ Natsu sweat dropped, removing his grip and replacing one hand instead on the blonde’s shoulder. ‘I’m just thinkin’ … How good are you at that song?’

‘U-uh, n-not very good,’ Lucy mumbled nervously, fearing what his crazy mind had conjured up this time. ‘Why?’ 

‘Practice,’ Natsu commanded. ‘Ima go talk to Mira.’

Spinning on his heel, Natsu headed in the direction of Lucy’s bed, leaving the exceed and the girl behind, startled and confused. Lucy turned her upper half and reached backwards.

‘Wait!’ she cried. ‘What are you doing?!’

‘Getting you a gig,’ Natsu bared his fangs in a grin, turning and back peddling. ‘Happy, stay with Lucy to help her out. She’s got a big night.’

Happy’s puzzled expression linger a moment longer as Natsu jumped up on Lucy’s window sill before he straightened and saluted his partner with determination directing his movements, his wings open by his sides majestically. 

‘Aye sir!’ he declared. 

‘Do I have a say in this?’ Lucy shouted desperately, throwing up her arms.

Natsu and Happy turned to her simultaneously with identical devily childish grins and cheeky sparks in their eyes. Lucy shivered, their ability to be in sync almost scary.

‘No!’

 

Lucy was more terrified than she had been in her whole life. More terrified than when she’d been kidnapped by Phantom Lord, more terrified than when she’d faced Zero of the Oración Seis, more terrified than when Acnologia was about to obliterate Tenroujima, more terrified than when she’d faced down a horde of dragons, more afraid than when she’d loomed under the entirety of Tartaros solo. 

‘Stop sweating, Luce, there’s gonna be no water left in your body soon,’ Natsu grumbled, handing her the already soaked towel she’d been using to cool herself down.

‘You’re not about to make a fool of yourself in front of the entire guild!’ Lucy retorted.

Natsu shook his head, sighing, ‘I heard you just before we came; you’re great! You’re not gonna make a fool outta yourself.’

Lucy bit her lip, smoothing down the edges of her dress for the eighth - she’d been counting - time. The soft, lavender pink material faded to white at the rim which fell to her knees, the thin straps crossing over back. A modest little getup that she honestly adored, paired with her silver flats, cooking up a superstar worthy hairstyle she'd learnt off Cancer consisting of twisting her elongated hair into two intricate looking buns at the base of her neck, but leaving strands to frame her face. 

Natsu lowered himself into a squat down beside her until he was eye level with the anxious chocolate eyes that he had lost himself in on many a morning waking up in her bed. 

‘You’re gonna be fine,’ he promised. ‘You know, Mira told me, if you stress too much, you get wrinkles. Girls hate wrinkles, right?’

Lucy scrunched up her nose distastefully, ‘Eww.’

‘See?’ Natsu laughed lightly and pulled the blonde into a warm embrace.

Lucy almost resisted; key word being almost. Raising a hand to his chest to push him back, Lucy suddenly felt the chills brought on by nerves leave. Warmth enveloped her, heating her up from head to waist. Shuddering, she unknowingly allowed herself to sink into Natsu’s arms a little deeper. Natsu smiled lovingly and rested his chin atop her head.

Mirajane’s voice echoed from somewhere the two mages couldn't care less about, ‘Lucy! You’re on in two min- oh my NaLu!’ The ivory haired barmaid squealed, ‘I’ll leave you two be!’ Natsu and Lucy heard her footsteps retreat, then a worrying  _ thunk _ , followed by Elfman and Lisanna’s reassurances to the rest of the guild that she was perfectly okay and fainting happily was absolutely normal.

Natsu sighed and pulled away, ‘I’m gonna go. Gotta get a front row seat.’ He stood to leave, but his hand was caught in another. It gripped his tightly, cold fingers curled around his own, ‘Luce?’

She wouldn’t look at him, facing the other way when she spoke, ‘S-Stay?’

Natsu blinked in shock, but it eventually gave way to a nod and a smile, ‘Sure, Luce.’

The curtains to the stage began to draw back and light spilled in on them. Natsu quickly flashed Lucy a thumbs up before stepping back a few paces into the shadows; enough for her to bathe in the comforting knowledge that he was there, but not enough for any attention to be on him.

‘Go on, Luce,’ he whispered under his breath.

Rows and rows of expectant gazes watching her, a guitar in hand and a winged microphone by her mouth. Her hands were shaking visibly as nerves consumed her mind. 

This was her song, her song for Fairy Tail. If she couldn’t sing it for the guild, she couldn’t sing it at all. 

Taking a shuddering breath and stilling her fingers, Lucy stroked her guitar lightly, the sound reverberating inside the hollow instrument and exiting it as an enchanting melody. The opening notes were light, soft and ghostly. Parting her dry lips, she ran her tongue over them, drew in a breath and began to sing.

**Did you hear about that girl**   
**She's living in her own world**   
**She's got dreams and plans**   
**She's got dirt upon her hands**

**And she sings**

Lucy eyes were closed. She could feel the gazes of her guildmates focused on her under the harsh stage lighting, illuminating her figure and turning her outline gold. Her fingers were cold on the strings, strumming a few bars of pure music.

**Take me to a place**   
**Where the rain won't fall no more**   
**Cause I love the feel of raindrops**   
**But when it rains, it pours**

Lucy’s silent shout out to Juvia did not go unnoticed by the rain women. On the ground level, by her beloved Gray-sama’s side, her hands rose slowly to her mouth, warm raindrops rolling down her cheeks. Her chest blossomed with friendly love for her guildmate and she turned into Gray’s chest - bare, typically - and cried. Stunned, Gray just held her.

**And that girl she sits by the river bank**   
**Tossing in old iron change**

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the mention of iron. By now, the Fairy Tailers had begun recognized that Lucy’s song was inclusive of her feelings for all of them. Touched that she’d bothered to include even him, the iron dragon slayer grinned just a little.

‘Geehee.’

**And she wishes on the waterfall**   
**But things still stay the same**

 **She cries out, you see**   
**When the world spins it don't spin around me**   
**I'm waiting for another day, another chance**   
**A way to prove just who I am**   
**But time goes slow**   
**When you're waiting on a fairytale**   
**That never comes**   
**So follow your dreams back home**   
**The place that always stays**

The last line of the chorus, Lucy sung as a ethereal whisper. Her voice was soft as a pillow and steady as a rock; and beautiful as an angel (according to a particular dragon slayer).

Natsu watched from behind, watched her move like the guitar was simply an extension of her body. Her arm bounced up and down in a constant beat, a new and exquisite sound emitting with every stroke. Her lyrics, so meaningful to the stellar mage, resonated in his heart as much as it must have in hers. 

He closed his eyes to let the melody sink into his bones.

**This picture's never perfect**   
**The book is never complete**

Levy recognized her contribution and started crying instantly. Gajeel, beside her, nearly fell off his chair. The solid script bookworm fell across the table, spread out, feeling so loved by her best friend that she never even realised that a little black exceed was directly beneath her on the table, struggling under her sudden weight. 

**But the place that she returned to**   
**Got her back upon her feet**

**After a lifetime of regrets she knew**

Lifetime of regrets; Natsu wondered what she was referring to.

**Just where she had to be**   
**By the side of those who loved her most**   
**She says “I know they’ll wait for me!”**

That was it. Regrets; regretting her parents. Regretting her mother, who had passed before she had grown up and left her alone. Regretting her father, who died still believing in his daughter but never being able to see her again.

A saddening lack of parents was a familiar feeling in the Fairy Tail family. In the front row, Erza’s head was lowered so far as to let her hair fall down around her face. Not that she’d tell him if he asked, but Natsu swore he could smell a single teardrop for his old friend’s face.

As she sang, everyone in the guild who knew of Lucy’s pain, as if knowing it was the right thing to do, placed a hand upon their heart. Almost semiconsciously, they curled into fists, leaving out their first finger and thumb, holding out the signature sign of Fairy Tail out to the blonde who nearly burst into tears right then and there. As it was, her next lines faltered as a happy sob built in her chest. 

**She cries out, you see**   
**When the world spins it don't spin around me**   
**I'm waiting for another day, another chance**   
**A way to prove just who I am**   
**But time goes slow**   
**When you're waiting on a fairytale**   
**That never comes**   
**So follow your dreams back home**

The stellar mage’s repeat of the chorus had the entire guild rocking in their seats, swaying calmly to the simple yet eerily haunting tune conjured by Lucy herself. 

Natsu felt a weight on his shoulder and looked sideways only briefly, not wanting to look away from the performance that played heavily on all their heartstrings. A teary Happy smiled a watery smile back at him, pride and love for their beautiful blonde in both of their hearts. 

**And maybe things won't ever change for how you've been perceived**   
**But who you are today and now is who you're meant to be**

Lucy smiled through her words, proud that she knew, now, that she was exactly where she knew she belonged. Home was not and had never been a physical place for her. Home wasn’t even Fairy Tail. It was the people that resided there.

**Stars continue shining, and the earth will still rotate**   
**To home I go, to home I stay, sorry mama; I'm so late!**

Lucy’s heart ached. It ached for her mother and father, and it always had. She poured every ounce of her feelings into that one line; the one apology that she would soon, within the week, be able to deliver in person.

Natsu smelled her tears but never saw them. He tensed up, jolting the exceed perched on his shoulder, but never answered his worries of what was wrong. The smell of salt began on that last line, and Natsu was somewhat intelligent enough to understand Lucy’s true thoughts.

The rest of Fairy Tail were oblivious. 

**I’ll light my own fire!**

Natsu’s heart almost stopped as Lucy raised her voice to an unbelievably high pitch, singing, he knew, of not his flames but her own. And he was proud to say that they shined brighter than his ever would.

**She cries out, you see**   
**When the world spins it don't spin around me**   
**I'm waiting for another day, another chance**   
**A way to prove just who I am**   
**But time goes slow**   
**When you're waiting on a fairytale** **  
****That never comes**

_ That’s a lie _ , Lucy thought to herself.  _ I was wrong. My fairytale entered my life so many years ago. I was just too blind to see it. _

**You will see**   
**The world doesn’t need to spin around me**   
**I won’t wait for another day, another chance**   
**Today I’ll prove just who I am**

The stellar mage knew who she was; she was Lucy of Fairy Tail, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia, valued member of Team Natsu, and the luckiest girl on the planet. 

Thanks to the ones she loved the most.

**Cause time goes slow**   
**When you're waiting on a fairytale** **  
****That never comes**   
**So I’ll follow my dreams back home**   
**Back home**

_ You are home _ , Natsu desperately wanted to say.

_ I am home _ , Lucy thought with a numb smile.

**Did you hear about that girl**   
**She's living in her own world**   
**She's got dreams and plans**   
**She's got dirt upon her hands**

A storm began.

Lucy blushed wildly as a raging thunder of applause erupted inside the guildhall, led most enthusiastically by the watching fire dragon slayer and azure exceed lurking like shadows behind her, giant smiles adorning their faces.

‘Th-thank you,’ Lucy croaked, smiling like a madman on drugs. 

She made a noise like a gurgle and her guildmates all chuckled, believing she was trying to keep down tears. Natsu knew better.

Stepping forward, he rest a hand on her shoulder. She twisted to look up at him and his concern covered face. Natsu trapped down his panic in the pit of his stomach, trying to focus on Lucy and Lucy alone.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked quietly, shoving away the hovering mic. 

Lucy nod, unable to speak. Her stomach felt of acid as blood shook up her insides; her lungs were slowly filling. Happy exchanged a worried look with his partners, both knowing the love layered lies the stellar mage was telling for the betterment of the both of them.

‘Lucy! That was amazing!’ Mira squealed, running on stage and crushing her in a bone cracking hug.  Levy, Wendy, Gray, Juvia and Erza were right behind her. ‘Why did you never tell us you could sing?’

‘I-I didn’t think I could,’ Lucy stuttered. She wanted to smile, but knew with the pain inside her it would emerge as a grimace.

‘Did you write that song yourself, Lu-chan?’ Levy wondered, grasping the blonde’s hands.

Lucy nodded, embarrassment warming her face. Wendy gasped, Gray whistled, and Mira, Juvia and Levy giggled excitedly. Erza simply nodded with an oddly satisfied smile.

‘I suspected you would be good at these things,’ the requip mage announced. The group sweatdropped. 

‘You have to write more!’ Mirajane declared. ‘I’d love to write a song with you one day! I bet it would be absolutely beautiful.’ 

Lucy felt bitter words leave her lips without thinking, ‘Of course.’

Agony erupted. Lucy gasped aloud, dropping the guitar with a resounding  _ cluuuuung _ . She grabbed her stomach tightly as she cried out, bile mixing with the blood rising in throat in a disgusting compound. Lucy retched, falling off her chair and onto her side, even as her friends all screamed.

‘LUCY!’

The Sky Sorceress reached her side first, closed followed by her big brother figure who skidded to his knees in front of the stellar mage. Natsu pulled Lucy up, half-conscious and barely breathing, into his lap as Wendy got to work. The familiar glowing aqua light of her healing magic lit up the stage, gathering Levy, Gray, Juvia, Mira and Erza around in a tight circle.

‘What’s happening?’ Levy asked in a high pitched whisper. She clutched Gray’s left arm tightly. ‘Lu-chan …’

Juvia, for once, didn’t complain about another clinging to her love; she was attached to his right arm just as rigidly, ‘W-will Lucy-san be alright?’ 

Wendy didn’t respond, concentrating on her task. Slowly, Natsu watched the pale and sickly quality of Lucy’s skin recede, turning back to normal. Still, her face was contorted in pain. She gripped Natsu’s wrists, digging in her fingernails as she grit her teeth. Natsu hovered over, forcing her to look into his face; into his eyes.

‘Lucy, look at me,’ he commanded. She obeyed with some amount of difficulty, whimpering. ‘Look at me, and keep looking at me. You’re gonna be fine, okay? Just … hang in there for a bit. Wendy?’

‘Almost,’ the healer breathed. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, her forehead creasing in intense concentration. ‘Her lungs … they flooded so unexpectedly.’

‘She’s not … not now … right?’ Natsu swallowed, hard.

Wendy shook her head, ‘No. Not yet.’ The glow faded and Wendy sat back on her haunches. ‘There. She’ll be okay.’ She lowered her voice, ‘For now. Watch her carefully, Natsu. And don’t stress her out. She hasn’t got long left.’

Her last words were a warning to only the fire dragon slayer’s ears; too low for any of the others to hear. Natsu heeded Wendy’s warning, pulling Lucy further up into his arms as she adjusted her hold to his forearms, her breath slowing down as the pain in her eyes vanished. 

‘You okay?’ Natsu asked.

Lucy nodded with the tiniest of movements, ‘Yeah.’

‘Lu-chan!’ Lucy was suddenly crushed in yet another hug. ‘You scared us!’

‘You still recovering from that fall, or something?’ Gray asked, a cool tone masking a heavy layer of worry for his blonde friend. 

‘What’s going on?’ Mirajane asked, confusion turning her blue eyes watery and weak. ‘Lucy, are you okay?

Lucy stared at them blankly. She blinked, then blinked again; they all waited for an answer. She felt Natsu’s grip tighten around her body.

‘I-’

She looked up. Natsu was staring somewhere off to her left. Lucy raised a shaking hand and touched his face, turning it to face her. There were lies in the depths of that onyx. Her own brown eyes asked a silent question and Natsu answered with a single gesture, shaking his head.

_ No _ .

Lucy moistened her lips, ‘I’m perfectly fine. Just overwhelmed.’

The Fairy Tailers heaved simultaneous sighs of relief. Without a word, Natsu picked Lucy up, holding her to her chest where she rested wearily, completely drained. Happy offered an encouraging smile over Natsu’s shoulder. Chatter arose and normality regained control. Lucy cast her eyes between the only three in the group looking downcast; the only three in on the apparent “secret”. 

Wendy, Natsu and Happy all wore guilty expressions, but even Lucy agreed that for now it was best that the rest of Fairy Tail didn’t know she was going to die. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: "Lucy's Song" is owned and written by JustAGirlCalledMe.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Send me away ..."

Lucy’s eyebrow twitched in detestation. She hated her condition. With a passion. With a burning passion. With a burning passion so fierce that it would melt the entire of Magnolia to the ground, leaving nothing but rubble and ashes behind. 

‘Uh, N-Natsu,’ Lucy mumbled. In her heart, she hoped he wouldn't hear, but in reality, she knew it was impossible for him to miss.

‘Mm?’ Natsu looked over his shoulder at the blonde as he rifled through her desk draw where he’d replaced her bucket list, halfway inside the draw as he stuck his head under the wood. ‘What’s up, Lucy?’

‘Er … I, uh,’ Lucy shut her eyes in embarrassment. ‘I have to go to the bathroom again.’ 

_ BANG _ .

Lucy winced, risking a peek through one heavily lidded eye. Natsu grasped his head in pain with one hand, the other holding her list, his face screwed up as he collapsed to the ground and began rolling around. Happy fell off the table, laughing, with tears in his eyes, hugging his fish for support.

‘OW!’ Natsu gasped. ‘Ow! Ow! Ow!’ He hissed harshly, ‘Ow.’

Lucy tried to hold back a smile; it wasn’t working, ‘Sorry?’ 

Natsu grimaced, choking on the pain as he stood, ‘Aha, don’t worry about it. What’s the problem?’

Lucy half glared at him, ‘I can’t get up.’

Natsu stopped, ‘Oh, right, that.’ He gave up looking and crossed the room, stepping over a hysterical Happy, ‘So what? I’ll just take you.’

‘N-Natsu!’ Lucy slapped the sides of her face, silently forbidding her cheeks to turn scarlet, even as they disobeyed her wishes. ‘Y-you can’t! That’s private!’

‘Oh, come  _ on _ , Luce! It wouldn’t be the first time!’ Natsu laughed, ‘And I’m sure it won’t be th-’ 

He caught himself just in time. Lucy averted her eyes suddenly like he was something she couldn’t bare to see any longer, staring into space sadly. Happy ceased his fit of hysteria and sat up, looking serious. Natsu's heart clenched under a cold, ruthless fist, squeezing his own life out like a juicer.

Yes. It really could be the last time.

Happy cleared his throat, 'Maybe just take her, Natsu.'

Natsu tried to catch Lucy's eye, but she wouldn't let him. The blonde was desperately attempting to prevent herself from crying, because no amount of tears could change the past. She knew that, and she wouldn’t cry anymore. 

'Yeah,' Natsu murmured. 'Right.' 

Cupping his arms under the knees and back of the stellar mage, Natsu lifted her easily. She didn't lean against him like she usually did. The dragon slayer experienced a strange pang in his chest. It felt kind of like pain, but... 

Natsu balanced Lucy on of his knees, flipping back the toilet lid for her before he set her down. He turned his back on her without Lucy even needing to instructing him to. 

Her clothes rustled softly. Natsu tried his hardest to allow his mind to drift anywhere but Lucy.

'Natsu.'

Ugh, she was making this very hard.

'Yes? Lucy?'

He flinched at his own cold tone, but with his face turned from her, Lucy didn't see. He heard her sigh and cut in before a single word fell from her lips.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ... I wasn't thinking, and-'

She giggled softly. Natsu broke off and practically  _ swooned _ ; holy Mavis, how he loved that sound. He lived for her laugh of spring flowers, fresh winter snow, autumn leaf falls and a summer breeze.

Yeah, something was definitely broken inside his head.

'I forgive you,' she promised. 'I was only going to say, I don't want to be upset with you. If I only have a week left - less than a week now - I want to take your advice and be happy. I don't want to be upset with you.’

Natsu lowered his gaze to the floor, examining the beige tiles like they were interesting. They were the most boring, unbeautiful thing he’d ever seen. Why? Why was he looking at those squares when something infinitely more beautiful was right behind him?

Lucy sighed quietly, evidently a little hurt at the lack of response from him. The tiny breath was meant for her ears only, but - not for the first time - she underestimated the dragon slayer’s hearing. Natsu couldn’t stand it anymore.

He spun around. He didn’t care. He dropped to the ground in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, not wasting a second as he pulled her in tightly. Lucy nearly choked as he embraced her hard enough for her ribs to whine in pain. But the hug still surprised her the most.

‘N-Natsu!’ she gasped. ‘Breathe! Needtobreathe!’

‘Nah, you don’t,’ Natsu said dismissively into her hair, discreetly breathing in her scent. The vanilla was dying, the strawberry overpowering. He dimly remembered the berry shampoo sitting on her sink; it was overcoming her natural, lively smell. ‘You need a hug.’ 

Her choking turned into a struggled laugh, ‘Maybe I do. But you know, what you did was sort of risky. What would you do if I didn’t have my skirt down?’

Natsu shrugged and pulled away, poker faced as ever, ‘Probably nothing different.’ 

Lucy’s face travelled through about one hundred different shades of pink and red in the space of five seconds as her eyes popped and slinked down to her hands nestled in her lap. She was suddenly glad,  _ very _ glad, she’d pulled down her skirt in time. 

Natsu smirked at her, showing his fangs. Lucy narrowed her eyes at him; was he joking?

‘Urgh,’ she swat his shoulder as hard as she could, which wasn’t all that hard. Chuckling heartfully, Natsu scooped her up even as she rolled her eyes. ‘You’re an idiot.’

‘I’m your idiot,’ he replied, carefree in tone and movement. Lucy’s face went yet another, much deeper shade of red, forcing the lump in her throat down into the pit of her stomach. Then, Natsu continued, ‘I’m Fairy Tail’s idiot.’

‘Oh,’ Lucy said.

Natsu frowned. Why was her voice so small? Was it something he’d said?

‘Finally!’ a blue exceed cried out thankfully, catapulting the two of them with waterfalls of tears streaming down his cheeks. ‘I thought you’d both drowned!’

Happy slammed into them at high speed. With a surprised, ‘Whoa!’ Natsu tumbled over, bumping against the bathroom door frame and bending over backwards until both Lucy’s, Happy’s and his own weight forced him over and he collapsed back into the bathroom. Lucy squeaked as they freefell, Happy’s eyes going wide in shock.

‘Oof!’ Natsu groaned. ‘Ugh, Happy …’

‘Gomen! Gomenasai, Natsu!’ Happy shouted. ‘I was just so grateful-’

‘Calm down, Happy,’ Lucy wheezed painfully. 

Her hand knotted against her side, pushing it against herself to numb some of the sudden pain. She coughed and a small amount of blood splattered the floor. Natsu threw aside his panic and leapt immediately into action, gathering her up and rushing over to the couch without a word, laying her against the back to allow her lungs to drain. Happy landed by her side with watery eyes, folding his wings behind him.

‘Lushee?’ he asked. ‘I’m-I’m s-sorry.’

Lucy coughed again, but no scarlet substance made its appearance; her throat had mostly cleared, ‘It’s okay, accidents happen.’

_ It was an accident _ .

Natsu growled lowly. Accidents may happen, but some could never, _ never  _ be fixed. 

Sitting there on her own couch, but unable to move from it; laughing and talking in her own apartment, but prevented from roaming around it; bound, tied, trapped, inside her own body. Her legs were nothing more than decorations now. And it was his fault.  _ It was his fault _ . 

_ Snap _ .

Natsu blinked back into reality, his two partners watching him hesitantly. Lucy lowered her hand from beneath his nose, tucked into a loose fist like she’d just clicked her fingers. Oh, wait.

‘Natsu, are you okay?’ Happy asked shyly, his voice wavering dangerously; it had been doing that a lot this week.

‘I’m fine,’ he grumped, forcing on a grin. ‘Why?’

‘You were growling,’ Lucy answered. Her own tone was so low and quiet he might’ve missed it if not for his enhanced senses. She lowered her head but looked up at him under her lashes. ‘Really deep, Natsu. Like a dragon. And your hands were smoking.’

Natsu grimaced, ‘Just got worked up for a second.’

Lucy nodded; she already knew that. She just wished he would stop blaming himself for  _ her _ mistake. No one was responsible for her fate but herself. 

Happy padded towards Natsu on the coach, blinking upwards with huge eyes, ‘Maybe we can do Lushee’s third wish?’

‘Ah,’ the dragon slayer nodded. ‘I’ll grab it.’

The discarded paper lay atop the desk where he left it, so when he reached it, he briskly flipped it open and scanned item number three. Suddenly, he smiled knowingly; this one he’d preplanned with Mira only yesterday, along with a few other things, and something with Wendy.

‘Natsu?’ Happy called. ‘What is it?’

‘Publish a successful book,’ Natsu announced, glancing over his shoulder. 

As expected, Lucy was looking anywhere but her comrades, suddenly finding her boots fascinating. Happy nodded seriously, looking unsurprised. He probably wasn’t; pretty much all of Fairy Tail knew of Lucy’s passion for writing and her wish to show her talent to Fiore. 

Happy tipped his head majorly to the right, almost as if trying to flush water out of his ear, ‘How are we gonna do that?’

‘Y-yeah, I think we can skip that one,’ Lucy mumbled. ‘I still haven’t finished a book that I’m happy with. Besides-’

‘Bull,’ Natsu interrupted dismissively, waving his hand like swatting a fly. 

Lucy narrowed her eyes, ‘Excuse me?’

‘Where’s Taurus?’ Happy cried out, leaping up in alarm.

Natsu shook his head, ‘I said that’s bull. You were so happy when you finished that book about the girl who found fairies living in her attic, or something. What was it called?

Lucy’s eyes widened and she sunk down into the coach, blushing, ‘ _ My Winged Playmate _ . It was more of a children’s book, though.’

‘That one,’ Natsu grinned and crossed the room, dropping down onto the couch next to Lucy with Happy between them, flicking gazes from one to the other. ‘I talked to Mira yesterday and she contacted people who contacted people and, well, I dunno what she did. But she talked to that author you liked.’

Lucy sweatdropped, ‘Which one?’

Natsu tapped his chin thoughtfully, ‘Which one wrote that manga you tried to read to me an’ Happy once? Somethin’ Master …’

Lucy choked on air, ‘Wh-what? Hiro Mashima??’

‘Him,’ Natsu agreed plainly, remaining composed as Lucy squealed in delight and excitement. He chuckled lightly, ‘Mira organised a meeting with him this afternoon so you could show him your book. And if he likes it, he’s gonna publish it for you. Your name on it and everything.’ 

Lucy’s barely beating fangirl heart gave out and she collapsed, her eyes rolling up into her head until only the whites showed, and her body fell still. A smile decorated her face. Natsu jumped up in alarm, fear caught in his throat as adrenalin suddenly zipped through his system.

‘Lucy!’ he shouted, taking her wrist, desperately grabbing for a pulse. ‘Lucy! Wake up!’

There. A pulse; he found it. It was as strong and steady as it had ever been this past week. He looked into her face; her breathing was normal, and her chest rose and fell evenly. Her cheeks were flush with colour; she looked fine. If so, then what?

Happy chuckled, patting Natsu’s hand which he’d left lain over Lucy’s, ‘Natsu, I think she just fainted.’

‘From happiness?’ 

‘Aye!’

Natsu checked her face. Her eyes were lidded, hiding the chocolate beneath almost in a teasing manner.  _ Haha, you can't fawn over her eyes anymore! _ Natsu humphed, but the pure peacefulness adorning her face worth nearly worth being cut off from that exquisite brown colour. 

Is that what her face would look like as they lowered her into the ground, sleeping peacefully, eternally, in a solid home of wood?

The saddened dragon slayer sighed.

‘Damn fangirls.’

 

The melody rung out by the doorbell was unfamiliar, yet extremely enticing. Lucy found herself nodding her head to the unknown beat.

_ Ding, dong, ding, dong. Ding, dong, ding dong. _

'Wow,' Natsu whistled appreciatively. 'Almost as big as your old place, Luce.' 

The mansion before them towered three stories high but only half as wide. The walls, crispy cream with swirls of white, were smooth as silk and shining like melted butter in the warm, afternoon sunlight. The roof was low pitched and a eye candy shade of grey-blue. Lining the straight greystone path were bright, flowerless bushes, and apple trees spread an even three feet away from each other. It was a scenic paradise. 

Natsu, carrying the blonde - and Happy upon his head - past the rows of fauna, had nearly jumped out of his skin when the Lucy had pushed back, leaning out of his arms to touch the delicate leaves hanging over the path, successfully tugging one off for her to hold.

‘It’s beautiful,’ she agreed, rubbing the furry side of the leaf against her palm. Almost sleepily, she set herself against him, feeling the hard indentations of his chest through the thin material of his coat and feeling safe.

Happy nodded, smiling, ‘Aye.’

The door opened unexpectedly and Lucy froze colder than Gray’s ice, terrified that she was going to be caught examining the grooves of her partner's body through his clothing. More than slightly concerned about her sudden stiffness, Natsu shook her a little. 

‘Oi, Lucy?’

‘Fine!’ Lucy squeaked in a high pitched voice. 

Lucy coughed, only to clear her throat and the awkwardness hanging around, but Natsu, taking it a different way, bit his lip in worry. Happy, on the other hand, had a clean view of Lucy’s actions and smirked widely, looking more like a Cheshire cat than an exceed.

‘You li-’

‘I swear, if you continue your sentence you will no longer have a tail,’ Lucy warned lowly, glaring at the blue cat.

Happy hid in between strands of Natsu’s hair, ‘Lushee’s scary!’

Natsu shook his head, utterly confused, ‘What the hell’s going on now?’

‘Ahem.’

Lucy, Natsu and Happy blinked simultaneously as the young man at the door cleared his throat politely. The well groomed, dark haired man was suited professionally in a black attire, a thin pair of designer glasses pushed up his nose, sitting right above an amused smirk. 

‘Good afternoon, can I help you?’ he asked kindly, quirking one eyebrow to show he was still entertained by his visitors antics.

Lucy snapped out of her trance faster than the two boys, ‘Uh, yes. Were you notified about a girl coming to talk about a book with-’

‘Mashima Sensei?’ the young man finished. ‘You must be Lucy-san, Natsu-san and Happy-san.’ He chuckled and stepped back, bringing the door with him, ‘Superman is waiting for you. Go right on in.’

‘Superman?’ Natsu muttered. 

He shifted Lucy up into his arms a little further, starting to feel a little dead in his tired limbs. Happy wobbled slightly and tumbled off Natsu’s head and into Lucy’s lap, mumbling ‘whoa’ as he steadied himself with the blonde’s help.

The young man shut the door silently behind the group, extending his arm to lead the way.

‘Superman,’ he began, ‘to answer your confusion, is what we call Mashima Sensei. You see, he is quite super, such a hard worker and all. The assistants here took to the name quite readily. Our Superman, though,’ he shook his head, ‘is very modest.’ 

Turning sharply on his heel, he stopped so suddenly that Natsu nearly crashed into him and sent both himself, Lucy and Happy spiralling. Their guide didn’t seem to notice.

‘I’ve been rude,’ he announced. ‘My name is Bobby, Chief Assistant here at Mashima Sensei’s secret headquarters.’

Lucy took ahold of his outstretched hand politely, careful not to jostle Happy, ‘Nice to meet you, Bobby-san.’

‘Just Bobby! Just Bobby,’ he exclaimed. ‘Honorifics just makes me feel old! Now, Mashima Sensei’s office is this way; he’s been expecting you, Lucy-san.’

Bobby the Chief Assistant motioned them to continue walking before he himself journeyed onwards without checking to see if they were following. 

The inside was just as grand as out. Beyond the ornate set of double doors, corridors led off to the left and right. An open concept living area was set out in blues and golds down the right hall, separated from the corridor by several lavish archways. The left hall divided into a number of smaller rooms. The doors they were shut behind were exquisitely carved from ebony wood.

A red carpeted staircase was the main attraction of the lobby and their first destination. As Natsu climbed the stairs, Lucy and Happy held tightly in his arms, all three of them gawked at the frames they passed, hanging on the walls. None of them contained photos; they were all magnificently detailed drawings. Characters from the manga by one of Lucy’s favourite authors, as well as characters from a range of other books, equally as successful and equally drawn by the master of the house.

The stellar mage trailed a single finger along the smooth surface of the wall as they passed the second level and turned left, following Bobby. The walkway turned into a brightly lit corridor that had a heavy aroma of lavender incense, more closed polished ebony doors lining every side. Bobby stopped in front of one no different to the rest. 

Wrapping his knuckles on the door, Bobby called out cheerily, ‘Superman, you’ve got guests.’

‘Miss Heartfilia and Mr Dragneel?’

‘Yes sir.’

Hesitation. Lucy swallowed down a dose of fear. Silence was never good.

Abruptly, the door flew open. Beyond the frame was a wild looking man with a broad grin. There was a pair of sunglasses sitting upside down, of all things, on the top of his head, and his fingers were dusted with lead left overs. A pencil stuck out from the tangles of his dark brown hair. Without a word, he grabbed Lucy’s hand and shook it tightly.

‘Ah, Miss Strauss told me you were coming,’ he said excitedly. ‘You must be Fairy Tail’s beautiful stellar mage. And you,’ he straightened, planting a hand on Natsu’s shoulder where he crimson insignia was stamped, ‘must be the great fire dragon slayer. Where’s your famed, blue-winged companion?’

‘Down here!’ Happy shouted. His expression was one of utter elation; someone remembered he was there and that he existed.

‘Happy the Exceed, am I correct?’ Happy nodded. ‘Pleasure to meet all of you! Please, come in! Come in! Thank you, Bobby!’

Bobby pretended to courtesy, smirking playfully, ‘Welcome, Superman.’ 

Lucy’s idol grumped and called out loudly as Bobby shoved them inside and slipped out the door faster than Happy could fly away from an annoyed Erza, ‘Stop calling me that!’ 

_ Slam _ .

He huffed, grumbling under his breath, stomping back to his harshly lit desk under a blinded window. The trio took the time he spoke to himself to stare in awe at the room.

If they thought the drawings in the stairwell were impressive, they were nothing compared to what donned the walls of the office room; posters and scrap paper covered in sketches, writings and downright scribbles that were an indistinguishable mess. The colour of the walls wasn’t even recognizable, but the floor was carpeted in white fuzz.

Their host was buzzing around chaotically. He threw several sketchbooks and papers off a couch and onto the floor onto top of an already tottering pile. The added weight caused it to fall over and half under a table. A scented candle on the windowsill spat a stream of heavy smelling lavender into the air.

‘I’m Hiro Mashima, but you probably knew that,’ Mashima said over his shoulder, still clearing some space somewhat. ‘Please sit.’

They sat. Not letting go of the blonde, Natsu’s plonked himself down on the plush couch, sinking in. Only then did he shift Lucy off his lap until she was sitting on his left. Happy jumped down to join them, setting down on Natsu’s knee. 

Out of her partner's arms, Lucy suddenly felt the chilly air that she had the pleasure not to have been exposed to earlier. She grit her teeth, but couldn’t control her shiver. Natsu, oddly perceptive when it came to the stellar mage, noticed. Discretion discarded, he grabbed her wrist with her right hand and pulled her in closer, his other arm wrapping around her shoulders easily.

‘E-er, N-Natsu,’ Lucy asked. Caterpillars crawled up her insides, and once they reached the top, they fell back down to do it all over again.

Natsu looked at her, straight faced, ‘You were cold, right?’

‘Y-yeah,’ Lucy mumbled.

The cheeky, blue exceed opened his mouth wide in his signature teasing grin, about to utter his favourite tease, when-

‘You liiiiiiiiiike each other!’ the manga artist exclaimed. 

The Fairy Tail wizards simultaneously turned bright red, their cheeks flooding with warmth. Or was that a cold feeling? Suddenly, they couldn’t look each other in the eye.

Mashima sighed, ‘Denial is such a sad thing. Well, anyway, you didn’t come here for me to pester you about your love lives,’ he turned to Lucy with a sly smile. ‘You came, Miss Heartfilia, to ask me for a favour.’

Lucy nodded shyly and looking up through her lashes, pulling a hardcover book from her brown leather satchel. The front cover was dark but lit in the middle by a painted lantern held by a girl of five years whose face was bright as tiny sparks danced around her head. In delicate, curled handwriting beneath was the words  _ My Winged Playmate by Lucy Heartfilia _ . 

Mashima held out his hand, but the young paraplegic hesitated, terrified. What if he didn’t like it? What if he  _ hated _ it? What if he laughed it off and would tell tales forever about the girl who gave him the most stupid book he’d ever read just before she died? What if her name was laughed at even after her imminent death? 

Lucy felt the book leave her grasp and squeaked, grabbing the arm that held her novel with a movement like a viper, ‘O-oi, Natsu!’ 

The dragon slayer still had his arm around her but smiled as he gently pulled the book away, ‘You worry too much.’ He squeezed her shoulder, ‘Your book’s great. I’m sure.’

‘Aye!’ Happy agreed, patting Lucy’s leg softly. ‘Mr Book-Man is going to love it!’

‘And I’m not a monster,’ Mashima assured casually, taking the book off Natsu kindly. Then he frowned, ‘Mr Book-Man?’

Lucy whimpered, reaching out for her precious novel, but she didn’t get very far before her injury chained her back. Pushing up, but only able to go so forward, Lucy bit her lip and let her hand fall. Natsu caught it.

‘Calm down,’ he murmured, pulling her in closer. Her chin rested under his head and he breathed across her head, his hot breath touching the part of her hair.

Lucy nodded, grateful for the reassurance, but still terrified. She watched Mashima with bated breath as he flipped the book open to a random page. His eyes flicked back and forth, scanning the words before him with a professional eye. Happy rubbed his paw over the back of Lucy’s insignia hand in an attempt to comfort the stellar mage. No sound; there was no sound.

_ Snap _ .

Lucy almost jumped, causing Natsu to snicker. Happy giggled with his partner. Lucy huffed and turned to glare, but-

‘I love it.’

Lucy blinked, halfway poised in a position to chastise her teammates. She turned to Mashima, her heart racing. The caterpillars in her stomach morphed into butterflies, their wings tickling her insides. Mashima tapped the front cover of the book with a grin. 

‘I would love to publish it for you, Miss Heartfilia,’ he said compassionately. ‘You have such talent. I’d be my pleasure to work with you.’

Lucy’s eyes quivered, her shaking hands rising to cover her mouth which fell open in a perfectly round ‘o’. Tears slipped past the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks. Natsu smiled; this kind of crying was perfectly okay with him.

‘Arigatoo,’ Lucy cried into her palms, falling against Natsu’s chest in utter happiness. ‘Arigatoo!’

The dragon slayer chuckled and squeezed her shoulder, ‘How ‘bout we go home? It’s getting late.’

‘Feel free to drop by anytime,’ Mashima waved cheerfully, standing up. ‘Bobby will escort you out. Bobby?’

The door opened at the end of the room immediately. Bobby was grinning, like he’d been eavesdropping the whole time - he probably had. 

Natsu slipped his hand beneath Lucy’s legs, the other supporting her weak back, and lifted her up onto his lap. He stood, taking her with him, easily. Happy jumped off the couch and lingered by his partner’s feet.

‘Thank you Mr Book-Man!’ the exceed waved back and padded out of the room.

Lucy was still crying, unable to say a word. Natsu watched her eyes grow puffy and red, and looked back at Mashima gratefully.

‘Thanks so much,’ the dragon slayer said quietly.

Mashima got the message and nodded once, looking up mischievously under his lashes as Natsu carried a limp Lucy out the door, Bobby bowing his head as the door shut behind them.

‘Anytime, old friend,’ he replied. ‘Anytime.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: To Hiro Mashima Sensei and Bobby Osawa-san; I assure that no offence was meant and I fully acknowledge that I do not own either of you. I hope I represented you in a way that may be entertaining even if it isn’t exactly like you. Kind regards, and keep making the Fairy Tail manga worth dying for! Thank you <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "With the words of a love song ..."

The apartment was far too quiet for ten in the morning, but the dragon slayer had little to no intention of disturbing the peacefully sleeping blonde; not when Wendy had warned him to treat her gently and carefully.

Waking up early - early from his viewpoint, anyway - Natsu left Lucy and Happy to sleep, slipping his arms from around the both of them. Lucy had one arm tucked securely around the exceed, and she shifted as soon as Natsu moved. Slow movements lulled her safely into dreamland again with a sigh and a little puff from her mouth. Natsu smiled.

His eyes drank her in like a mug of the hottest fire, burning up his insides until he couldn’t take anymore. Bed hair had never looked more beautiful to him than now, on Lucy. Her nose was scrunched up and her mouth set in a soft pout. Her scent was so very, very faint, though, and that worried him a lot.

Natsu sniffed the air suspiciously; it was still there, the ever present vanilla vaguely mixing with her strawberry scent of choice. But it lingered around her like a gentle cloud, clinging to her skin gingerly. Natsu wondered whether it was the fault of the blankets cocooned around her that trapped her oddly enticing smell inside them, or perhaps-

He shook his head. Not the time.

Grabbing the window frame, the dragon slayer clung to the sill, not allowing himself to look back at his partners. He listened, a long moment, to the sound of their breathing; reassuring himself, almost, that they would be okay. Then he flung himself to the ground below and disappeared amongst the small crowd.

 

Lucy was cold. 

Shivering, she tugged her rosy blanket further over herself with chattering teeth. It did little good. Her stomach muscles clenched, as did her shoulders, as she huddled in on herself as best she could. Her legs stayed put. Keeping her tired eyes shut, she pulled it further up, but she felt no change. 

‘Natsu,’ she groaned. ‘Stop hogging.’

No answer. Was he still asleep?

Lucy grunted, peeking open one eye hesitantly, squinting to keep her brain shielded from the mid morning sunlight. When had the sun climbed that high? It cast its yellow glows through the open window, the curtains blowing in a small breeze that fluttered the loose strands of Lucy’s hair around her face. It flooded over her bed where she and and a blue cat slept.

But no pink haired dragon slayer.

‘O-oi,’ she raised a hand, head glued on the pillow, and rubbed sleep from her eyes. ‘N-Natsu?’ She flopped her lifted hand over the side of the bed where he’d been the night before, ‘Hey, Natsu? Natsu!’

‘L-Lu-Lushee,’ Happy yawned, somewhere down by her stomach. His tail twitched against her side. ‘It’s too early.’

‘Happy! Wake up! Where’s Natsu?’

Happy yawned again, sitting up slowly and pawing at his ear, ‘Where’s who?’

Lucy resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sluggish exceed, ‘Pink hair, dragon slayer, idiot, Fairy Tail member, your  _ partner and best friend _ ! Ring any bells?’

Happy blinked, ‘Heh?! Where’s Natsu?!’

Lucy’s eye twitched.

‘I don’t know,’ she admitted, gritting her teeth and sucking in a sharp breath. ‘Did he tell you he was going somewhere after I fell asleep last night?’

Happy considered the question. He tapped the side of his head like it might generate a relevant thought. Readjusting his little green backpack, he stood up, resting his paws on his hips and nodding thoughtfully.

‘Yes,’ he announced. ‘I remember now! Natsu asked me to take care of you because he was going somewhere.’

Lucy stared at him, ‘W-wait, really?’

Happy smiled proudly, ‘Aye!’

‘O-oh.’

Suddenly, Happy’s smile crumbled. His arms dropped lifelessly by his sides and he his face shifted into a pout, his eyes looking downwards at his inward pointed feet. The blue cat sniffed.

‘Lushee doesn’t think I’m big enough to take care of her.’

Lucy’s eyes widened, ‘Eh?’

Happy plonked down on the bed and covered his face, tears leaking from the corners of his large and saddened eyes, ‘You don’t think I can take care of you, do you, Lushee? Because I’m little, and small, and I don’t know how to do stuff.’

Lucy sighed, biting her lip in an immense guilt overload, ‘Oh, Happy, that’s not it at all.’

The exceed sniffed again and looked up, his bottom lip trembling, ‘But, you sounded nervous. Like you didn’t want me to take care of you.’

Lucy shook her head and held out her arms, ‘Come here.’

Happy obliged. Pushing up off his knees, he padded softly and slowly across the bed, his tail dragging behind him sadly like a useless azure rope. He made it to the blonde and collapsed against her neck, weeping into her collarbone. Lucy, expecting to hug him until he felt better, was stunned at the little cat’s reaction. Happy’s tears slipped against her skin like raindrops.

‘Hey, Happy, what’s wrong?’ she asked gently, stroking his laid back ears.

‘I don’t want you to go, Lushee!’ Happy exclaimed in a blur of sobs. ‘I don’t want you to go anywhere! I want me and Natsu to take care of you forever! It doesn’t matter that you always used to kick us out, and shout at us, and chase us around! You made us food sometimes, and let us sleep in your bed! And we went on lots of missions! And-and-’ Happy heaved a huge breath, ‘You’re like a mama to me, Lushee.’ He squeezed his face further into her collarbone, ‘I don’t wanna lose my mama again.’

Lucy was dumbstruck. After his enormous speech, Happy had no breath left, and his cries stifled down to muted sobs against her neck. Lucy’s hand was limp on his head, his fur soft running through her fingers but never actually felt. Her heart beat less and less, slower and slower by the minute. 

‘Happy,’ she whispered. ‘I-I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know … I never knew you thought of me like that.’

Happy whimpered like a kitten, ‘Natsu took care of me since I was an egg. I would never tell him, but he was the closest thing I had to a dad. When Lisanna died, I lost the closest thing I had to a mama. When we met you in Hargeon, and you came back to Fairy Tail with us, I had a mama again. But,’ Lucy felt another drop splash on her neck, ‘I’m gonna lose my mama again.’

Silence. It shot through the room like a firework, exploding in the middle to rain down an absence of sound. Happy was so quiet, Lucy would’ve wondered if he was still there, had she not been able to feel the softness of his blue fur and the hiccupy shake of his body. For a while, she realised, she’d forgotten that Happy  _ was _ basically a child.

The stellar mage sighed, ‘I lost my mama too, Happy, remember, when I was very little? I was okay. I was very sad, for a long time, but it got better. It’s gonna get better, Happy. Okay?’

Happy sniffed, lifting up his head and entering Lucy’s line of sight. Lucy stopped craning to try and see him. The little cat’s bottom lip trembled continuously, but he put on a brave face for the sake of Lucy, calming himself with deep breaths.

‘A-aye,’ he sniffed.

They were quiet again, but comfortably so. Lucy pat the exceed’s head soothingly as he inhaled deeply to calm himself. When he had, he frowned, and looked up at Lucy.

‘Lushee, can I ask you a question?

‘Of course.’

‘You have to answer honest.’

‘S-sure, Happy …’

‘Do you like Natsu?’

The blonde was caught off guard. She squeaked and breathed in at the same time, resulting in a bizarre, hacking cough that ripped apart her inside a little more. With each recoil of her injured frame, it became just a little harder to breath as her lungs flooded crimson. 

‘H-Happy,’ she wheezed, ‘why-’

Happy shook his head, ‘You have to answer honest.’

Lucy blinked at the sly little cat, searching for a mischievous spark or a cheeky smirk, maybe even the beginning of a telltale tongue roll; his signature ‘You liiiiiiiiike him!’ But there was nothing.

‘Happy, I-’ Happy raised an eyebrow. Lucy sighed; she had three days at best, anyway, seconds at worst. ‘Yes, Happy, I guess I do.’

Strangely, Happy only grinned, showing off his teeth. The spark in his eyes was not one of mischief; it was, ironically enough, just happy.

‘Good,’ he said. ‘You should tell him.’

Lucy smiled, ‘Maybe I will. Now … can you help me get up?’

The little exceed saluted, one passing tear still rolling down his red cheeks, ‘Aye, sir!’

 

‘Happy, where are you taking me?’ Lucy asked tiredly as she whacked away another branch the exceed had unknowingly flown her into.

‘The forest,’ Happy answered vaguely. ‘Natsu said to bring you to the forest at midday.’

‘Where in the forest?’

Lucy huffed, unimpressed with the sheer  _ lack _ of information. The deeper they went into the foliage, the thicker the trees became and the darker the shadow cast by the overhanging canopy of leaves and branches. The smell of wet dirt clung to the atmosphere and, in the distance, Lucy could hear the trickling of the river; the one Natsu and Happy sometimes took her to to fish. 

Happy clung to the back of the blonde’s red t-shirt, her jean clad legs and sneaker covered feet (Happy helped there by getting Mira from the guild hall to help dress Lucy) hanging down where they knocked against low branches, bushes and rocks. Not that Lucy could feel any of what hit her below the waist. Another leafy limb whacked her in the stomach, and she felt her internal organs knocking about inside her like a party she did not consent.

‘S-sorry, Lushee,’ Happy apologised, sweatdropping.

Lucy cleared her throat carefully, the vibrations of her vocal cords dragging pins and needles painfully against the inside of her throat and chest. She winced, and Happy noticed. The blue cat fought back tears; he was going to be strong for Lucy. Lucy didn’t need anyone crying over her. Nonetheless, the pain and guilt eating away at Happy stayed.

‘We’re almost there,’ he said quietly.

Lucy smiled somewhat painfully, ‘Thanks, Happy.’

Happy nodded. His tail twitched reflexively. For once, he had no desire to complain about Lucy’s weight; though her lifeless lower limbs  _ did _ in fact add extra to the load, Happy was a smart enough kitten to know that it wasn’t necessary nor helpful to say so. It wasn’t so funny anymore.

Delicate ivory wings bearing the weight, Happy glided easily through the underbrush, trying hard to steer Lucy away from low hanging appendages. 

The eeriest thing about the trip was the lack of quiet. Birds, insects, creatures of the ground and trees; all the animals of the forest were awake and alive, announcing so to the world through their happy chitters and sweet songs. Bright patches of purple, brown, blue and white appeared in amongst the generic green scheme of the forest. 

‘Yo, Lucy! Happy!’ shouted a voice off to their right. ‘Here!’

Lucy blinked curiously at the out of place pink splotch in amidst the contrasting colours, ‘Natsu?’

Happy flew them over to where Natsu sat, waiting, by a still and crystalline lake.

The water was almost perfectly clear; clear enough to just see the rock covered bottom and the tiny silver fish that darted back and forth as fast as gunshots. The sun, just beginning to make its descent at this hour, reflected off the beautiful surface of the water and bounced around the space, hanging in the atmosphere air like frozen stars. Dragonflies buzzed by the surface, dipping and bobbing, and causing ripples, filling the air with the most melodic of all music.

The only clear area was an overhanging rock not too far from where they emerged from the fauna. Natsu was seated there, something held tightly in both hands, sitting cross legged at the very edge.

‘Natsu!’ Lucy called as the approached. ‘Where were you? Why didn’t you say you were going?’

Natsu cocked his head to the side like a misguided puppy, ‘I told Happy.’

‘I-I know,’ Lucy recalled the morning’s conversation and chose her next words carefully. ‘I just would’ve liked it if you’d told me yourself. Happy did a great job, but still; you didn’t tell me.’

‘Aye,’ the blue neko confirmed.

Natsu smiled, ‘Sorry, Luce. I didn’t wanna worry you, ‘specially if you knew what I was doing.’

That, in no way, shape or form, sounded like a good thing. Lucy narrowed her eyes suspiciously, casting them across the pinkette in an analysing manner. In a quick moment, however, suspicion became concern and Lucy dropped her annoyance.

‘You don’t … You don’t look so good,’ she noted. ‘Natsu, what were you doing?’

Natsu glanced over his shoulder, away from his partners’ lines of sight, moving away so they couldn’t detect anymore the heavy bags under his eyes, hanging like a discoloured lantern made to darken instead of light. Lucy saw the paleness of his skin and, tapping ever so slightly into her magic supply, felt the lack of his own power like an electric shock.

‘Natsu! What have you done?’ she yelped, worry directing her words. ‘Your magic-’

Anger flashed on like a pressable button or a flickable switch, sparking a fire of terror momentarily. 

Natsu jumped up, eyes flashing dangerously with the little fire he had left to call his own. He grabbed Lucy by her shoulders, his grip causing the blonde to wince. Slightly frightened, Happy released the back of her t-shirt. She was held in place, caught under the gaze of a furious dragon.

‘You used magic,’ it was not a question; it was a statement, one that Lucy could not deny.

‘Y-yes, I-’

Natsu shook her a little, ‘You’re not supposed to use magic! Dammit, Lucy, it’s only gonna speed up you- your-’

‘I know,’ Lucy snapped. ‘Natsu, I know. But that isn’t the point! Why is your magic so low? Did you … Were you in a fight?’

Natsu stopped and, once again, looked away. Carefully and gently, he lowered Lucy to the ground, letting her legs fall over the rock and the tips of her sneakers brush the waveless lake. Happy floated down beside her and plonked himself down, his wings disappearing with a flash. Natsu kept one arm around Lucy to hold her up. She leaned into him.

‘I knew you’d probably kill me,’ Natsu admitted, all traces of previous rage vanishing in an instant, ‘so I didn’t say. But, I read ahead on your bucket list. I got this a few days ago, and this is where I disappeared to this morning.’

Lucy looked in shock and awe at the spherical object sitting in the center of Natsu’s outstretched palm. Happy, too, gazed in astoundment, both of them feeling like their insides had frozen over.

The exceeds eyes shook, ‘Natsu. How?’

‘Wh-where,’ Lucy moistened her dry lips. ‘Where did you get this?’

The stone was no bigger than an average plum, and shaped with blunt indentations and protrusions; an ordinary rock. Lucy and Happy knew better. The pure magic power radiating from the magical item caused its surface to glow with a dark purple hue. Sunlight itself was trapped inside, casting the most enchanting colours across the inside of the stone.

Natsu rubbed his thumb over one side, shrugging, ‘Oh, just around.’

Lucy’s jaw dropped at his carefree manner, ‘Natsu, that’s a  _ Transference Stone _ ! You don’t just find those “around”!’ 

‘I didn’t even know you could buy those!’ Happy exclaimed, reaching out to touch, but holding back as if it might burn him.

Natsu laughed, grinning broadly, ‘You can’t!’

‘Then-’

The dragon slayer squeezed Lucy’s shoulder, ‘Doesn’t matter. What matter is that, this morning, I charged it with my magic.’ Lucy blinked in confusion, so Natsu recited, ‘“Number two: become stronger like Natsu” right?’ Lucy blushed all sorts of interesting shades of red, so bright and beautiful, Natsu resisted the weird urge to touch her face. ‘I know you can’t really use magic, and there wouldn’t be enough time to train as much as you’d like to anyway, so I thought of this. There’s enough magic in there to last an hour or two, at least.’

Lucy’s whole frame trembled as Natsu took her limp hand, pressing the stone inside it and curling her lifeless fingers over the rough surface. It felt calloused under her skin.

‘Natsu,’ she whispered, tears brimming the edges of her eyes. ‘I-’

‘I made a promise,’ he reminded her, his voice dropping lowly, bordering on a growl. ‘I made a promise that I would make you happy. A Fairy Tail mage never breaks a promise.’

Now, she was crying. Saltine drops traced parallel lines down her cheeks like silver train tracks. Happy was balling, and they both glomped Natsu in a huge, family sized hug.

‘Arigatoo!’ Lucy cried loudly. ‘Arigatoo!’

‘Natsu!’ Happy yelled, snot dripping from his nose and tears from his eyes. ‘Lushee!’

Natsu shook his head and chuckled, holding them both tightly. How could a world exist without either one of them? How could a world exist without Lucy’s smile or Happy’s cheer? How could it? His hold tightened, a fist clenching in the blonde’s hair, an arm curling around the exceed.

‘Hey,’ he mumbled. ‘You gonna try it out?’

‘Hmm?’ Lucy pulled back, sniffing. ‘What?’

Natsu rolled his eyes and tugged his hand from her hair, ‘The stone, weirdo. Aren’t you gonna try it? Come on, that’s all my magic in there; don’t waste it! Do a … Do a roar!’

‘Yeah, Lushee!’ Happy agreed, jumping up into the air. His wings exploded behind to catch him. ‘Do a better roar than Natsu!’

‘Hey!’

Lucy heaved a deep breath, steeling her nerves. She squeezed the stone tightly, feeling unfamiliar - but not entirely unwelcome - magic course through her body. It started in her hands as a buzz, then travelled up her arms, through her chest and down to her torso, until her entire body was alive and vibrating with power. 

Fire burned in her stomach. Everything enhanced; she could see the lines on the crystal wings of the hovering dragonflies, smell the odourless lake and the green scent of the trees, hear the soft breathing of her best friend in the world, and her other best friend in the world. Who was who didn’t matter.

She loved them both.

‘R-roar-’ 

She looked over to Natsu for support. His nod of encouragement and rub on her shoulder was enough to dumb down the embarrassment she felt rising to her cheeks in the form of a steaming blush. Happy pat her knee, attracting her attention. The azure exceed have her a thumbs up and a wink.

‘You can do it, Lushee!’ he cheered.

Huffing in a huge lungful of oxygen, Lucy let it expel in one of Natsu’s signature moves.

‘Roar of the fire dragon!’ 

Flames rushed from her parted lips in a hot, raging torrent of magic and adrenalin. Lucy’s stomach boiled but for the first time since the accident, it didn’t hurt. Nothing hurt. Nothing hurt anymore; she was absolutely free of pain.

The fire leapt up, spiralling over the lake in a gorgeous firework display. Crackles and roars from the magic increased the exhilaration inside her.

She laughed, Natsu and Happy alongside her.

For the rest of the afternoon, Happy and Natsu carried Lucy around the lake side and over the water, letting her play with fire. She danced on air, surrounded by flames. Yellow and orange lit up the clearing like a dome of sunlight had been cast over their serene lives.

Natsu eventually just watched, allowing Happy to glide around with Lucy attached. The blonde roared again and it came out in the shape of a dragon - at least to Natsu’s eye. She punched the air, flames curling around her arm like friendly snakes. Wing attacks, horn attacks, roars and punches; all of his magic concentrated in that perfect body in front of him.

Tears flowed freely as he smiled as far as his lips would stretch. Silence cursed his throat but not his eyes as they bled salty water. Though happy and at peace, it would not last. One last wish on her list remained; Natsu had been preparing all week. He was determined to make these last couple of days the best of her entire life. No matter what it took.

Lucy’s entire life was a ticking time bomb, draining as fast as the Transference Stone that brought her such happiness. Natsu knew that, just as the stone would soon run out, so would she. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The sharp knife of a short life ..."

For the second morning in a row, Happy was the only one Lucy woke up to, and Happy was the one who took care of her. She got out of bed, dressed modestly and sat at her dining table all with the exceed’s help. And there was nothing wrong with that. But still … 

‘Ne, what’s wrong, Lushee?’ Happy asked innocently. His wings tucked away, he padded softly across the room carrying an oversized tray of unburnt toast in his tiny paws. His wide eyes betrayed concern. ‘You look upset.’

The blonde sighed through her nose and sat back in the chair, feeling the wood between her shoulder blades. Happy sprouted his wings to fly onto the table where he placed Lucy’s breakfast before they disappeared instantly in a white burst. The toast wasn’t at all burnt as when Natsu had cooked, further supporting Happy’s claims of being their house’s top chef. It smelled good too.

‘It’s nothing, Happy,’ Lucy mumbled. There was a line of sweat lining her brow, and the tops of her shoulders and around her neck, visible around her loose strap top. ‘Nothing.’

Happy clearly didn’t believe her. Scanning her face for lies, he picked up a piece of toast and gave it to her carefully. Lucy ate slowly, savouring the taste of crunchy bread covered with spread, delighting her tastebuds with their toasty goodness. Shame. Numbly, she wondered if they had toast in the afterlife.

‘Is it Natsu?’ 

Happy’s voice was soft, but strong enough. He didn’t say another word, and the stellar mage didn’t reply, leading the cat to believe that, yes, it was Natsu’s absence. If she hadn’t already admitted the previous day that she did in fact like him, Happy might’ve teased her; might have. 

Unfortunately, this time Happy knew exactly where Natsu was, what he was doing and who he was with. But all of this he was forbidden from telling Lucy. He couldn’t say a thing about it; not until Wendy arrived.

_ And maybe Carla too! _ the exceed thought excitedly.

He shook his head. As much as he loved Carla with almost all of his heart, the section that housed Lucy’s existence was far more prominent at the moment. 

Happy watched Lucy devour her toast like she’d never eat again - a thought he didn’t appreciate lingering on his mind. She ate quietly as Happy sat with his legs outstretched and thinking, rocking his feet back and forth like a small child. 

The silence was a sound in itself, but to each body it was different. To the blue neko, the silence was sad; silence meant nothingness. However to the blonde, the silence was serene; silence meant peace and serenity. 

Happy broke it, silencing the silence with his quiet words, interrupting the nothing and the peace.

‘Lushee. Can we play eyespy?’

Lucy studied him strangely, eyeing off his drooping ears and downturned eyes. His colour had changed; he was no longer a bluebird of happiness, he was the endless blue of tears and heartache. It saddened Lucy greatly.

But what could she do?

‘Yes, Happy. I’d like that very much.’

 

_ Knock, knock, knock. _

Lucy blinked, halfway through guessing “something the colour of pink”. Though she knew, immediately, that it was the duvet on her bed, she kept the little neko giggling and cheerful by choosing silly objects and pretending to be absolutely clueless. Anything to see the happy bluebird again.

‘Who could that be?’ she wondered.

Lucy moved to get up and answer the door. The movement ended up causing her to twist sideways. When her legs didn’t respond to her command, however, she tipped over with a squeak. Happy cried out but dived too late to catch her before she hit the ground.

The impact knocked the wind from her lungs, allowing blood to gush in. Suddenly suffocating, Lucy coughed and spluttered, scarlet specks flying across her floor. Somewhere above or beside her - which way was up, anyway? - somebody yelled for help. She wasn’t breathing. Her vision darkened without oxygen and her ears buzzed loudly.

A crash sounded, footsteps banging against the ground, and she was pushed up into an upright position. Her head was against something soft. Someone’s thighs. Lucy felt a gentle touch on either shoulder and the pain drained away slowly. Closing her eyes, she slipped into the lull of magic, stealing away the agony and fear of drowning.

‘-not long,’ said a voice, interrupted by internal static. ‘I’m sorry I can’t do more.’

A sniff, ‘Thank you.’

‘You shouldn’t push yourself, Wendy.’

Lucy gurgled, feeling a mixture of blood and bile in her throat, burning together rather painfully, as she tried to speak, ‘Wendy.’

The young girl’s face popped into view, hovering over Lucy. Her dark blue hair was tied in a ponytail down her back, keeping it from falling in the blonde’s face. Though she smiled, the gesture was bitter and fake, filled with sadness and guilt.

_ Why does everyone feel guilty? _

‘Lucy-san,’ Wendy breathed thankfully. ‘I’m glad my magic still worked.’

Lucy chuckled wearily, feeling tired, ‘Thank you, Wendy. I don’t know what any of us would do without you.’

‘LUSHEE!’

_ Squish. _ A blur of blue squashed itself between her breasts, attempting to wind its tiny paws around her torso. Happy cried, again, as he hugged her. His loud sobs vibrated in Lucy’s eardrums, the buzz fading to an annoying nuisance that also happened to cause pain. 

Another white animal was by Happy’s side.  _ Carla _ , Lucy thought. Carla pat Happy’s back comfortingly, her own eyes brimmed with tears she would not allow to drop free. Wendy’s hands still lay on Lucy’s shoulders, cold and still.

‘What were you doing here?’ Lucy asked suddenly, snapping the reviere. 

Wendy blinked. She, Happy and Carla exchanged confused looks. Then, starting with the troublemaker exceed and moving to the other two girls, giant beams appeared identically on their faces, lighting up the darkness that had descended a minute previously.

‘I almost forgot!’ Wendy exclaimed. 

She pushed up off her legs, lifting a very heavy Lucy up with her. Happy and Carla flew up to help her, each grabbing a strap of Lucy’s shirt and hovering her off the ground. Lucy had no idea what was going on and made that fact known.

‘F-forgot what?’ she managed. ‘What’s happening?’

‘Natsu-san’s told me all about your Bucket List, Lucy-san,’ Wendy explained vaguely. She slipped slyly across the room to the open door where a box sat, waiting, like it had been dropped in a rush. ‘So I’ve been helping him.’

Happy laughed by Lucy’s ear, a drop of sweat slipping down his head, ‘Natsu made it sound like he did all of it by himself. But it was Wendy who found the skydiving place. And some of the other stuff.’

Wendy flushed, her cheeks brightening in humble modesty. Carla watched the young dragon slayer, proud of the lady she’d become. If Lucy was honest, so was she. The young dragon slayer had grown magnificently since the uncertain days of Cait Shelter. Wendy turned away from their stares and retrieved the box. 

‘I just answered questions, that’s all,’ she muttered, embarrassed. ‘They were all Natsu-san’s ideas.’

Shaking her head slowly, Lucy questioned, ‘I still don’t know what’s going on.’

‘Humph,’ Carla rolled her eyes. ‘The last thing on the list. You’ve only done four things, right? There’s one left.’

Lucy remembered. Five was skydiving, four was her song, three was her novel, two was becoming stronger, and one … one was … 

‘I don’t remember what the last one was,’ she admitted. ‘I wrote that list a long time ago.’

Wendy kicked the door shut with her foot, the rush of air blowing her green sundress around her legs. With a slightly ‘oof!’ she tottered over carrying the large box. She lowered it very carefully to the ground beside Lucy, still airborne. Attacking the tape with a pair of scissors, Wendy smiled at Lucy.

‘Maybe this will jog your memory,’ she said.

The tape came free with an exaggerated tug and Wendy fall over backwards onto her bottom with a yelp. She sat up dizzily and reached for the box, feeling for the flaps as stars blinked around her. Shaking her head, she tossed them out of her head.

Wendy opened the box.

Lucy didn’t understand what it was at first. But as the small bluenette lifted the long and flowing material from its cardboard container, her heart raced faster and faster, her breaths becoming shorter as tears sprang to her lashes.

‘That’s- that’s-’ she couldn’t form a sentence for the lump in her throat. ‘Mama … how did you-’

‘ _ That _ ,’ Wendy emphasised, ‘I can definitely say was all Natsu-san. He found it. I don’t know how.’

Lucy cast her wavering gaze over the delicate curves and waves of her mother’s pearly wedding dress. With an off the shoulder but modest neckline, the dress hugged the waist generously before falling in an array of silvery folds, as beautiful and elaborate as the stars themselves. Tiny silver gems embroidered into the skirt made the item of clothing equally priceless in terms of money and personal value.

Something that she had thought she’d never see again, something buried so deep inside her old mansion - hidden many a year ago by her father in his hateful times - it was only a memory. Until now. 

Lucy was crying, harder than she ever thought possible. Good times with her parents invaded her mind like spears of pain to her heart. Her mother’s smile as her father encircled them both, sitting under a tree far from their mansion and their riches, flipping through a dusty photo album, travelling back in time through the memories that soon after began to fade with her family.

Wendy stroked the crying stellar mage’s back, smiling softly. She pulled the fallen chair upright, and Happy and Carla lowered Lucy down into it where she sobbed into her palm. It wasn’t the delicate, cute kind of sobs, either. It was full on, loud and puffy eyed.

‘Do you remember the number one thing on your list, Lucy-san?’ Wendy asked, raising her voice a little to be heard over the blonde’s constant crying.

Happy’s eyes were watering again, but a cheerful beam brightened his face to say they were not tears of pain or sadness, but of happiness for his best friend and motherly figure.

‘You wanted to fall in love and get married,’ he reminded her in a wobbly tone, his words cracking partway. ‘We wanna help you do that.’

‘Minna!’ Lucy cried, removing her hands. Her brown eyes were bloodshot and her mouth was halfway caught between a delighted, thankful smile and open wide to cry. ‘Arigatoo! Arigatoo!’

 

‘I don’t quite understand,’ Lucy muttered, feeling the wind blow past her face, enough to tingle her skin, but not enough to completely mess up her carefully arranged hair. ‘Where’s Natsu?’

They were flying slowly, for Lucy’s sake and Wendy’s insistence. Happy had a ginger hold on the back of Lucy’s mother's special dress, levelling his wings to make the flight as smooth as possible. Wendy and Carla flew less than a wingspan away, the little dragon slayer outfitted in a hurriedly bought pink dress with white trims and a red and white shawl draped on her shoulders

Lucy was surprised to find the dress had fit her extraordinarily well. She supposed people were very right when they said she was a replica of Layla. The shoes she wore were newly bought by Wendy for the occasion; silvery-white and ordinary. 

A bun was her chosen style of hair, with two loose strands framing either side of her face. Her makeup was natural looking and simple; Wendy and Carla had fixed it with green eyeshadow, soft, strawberry lipstick and light blush. 

Happy chuckled, flapping his wings once to maintain altitude, ‘Where do you think?’

Lucy had most definitely  _ thought _ . She only asked for confirmation, and to get rid of the jitters currently living inside the depths of her stomach that had nothing to do with her affliction.

‘He’s at wherever we’re going, isn’t he?’ 

Lucy didn’t turned her head to the exceed when she heard a cheeky ‘Fufufu!’ She only watched the countryside glide past; the smooth green hills and occasionally tree that had just begun to bloom with pink buds half open. Their sweet scents tainted the air the blew in the groups faces like a free perfume.

‘I hope you’re not upset about this, Lucy-san,’ Wendy called out from slightly above her.

Lucy looked at the ground, so many miles below, and shook her head, surprised at her own response and feelings, ‘No. It’s okay, Wendy. I think … I think I understand what you guys have set up.’

Wendy glanced down, ‘You do?’

‘So you know that Natsu has been planning this all week because he really wanted to keep his promise to you, so he asked me and Carla and Wendy to help him organise a tiny weeny wedding because it was the last thing on your list, and he decided that he would marry you because he said it was his fault in the first place and this was the only way he could absolutely make it up to you and make you very happy?’ Happy asked in one breath.

Lucy blinked, and blinked again and again. Her jaw dropped open and stayed there, worrying Wendy into thinking that she might swallow a bug.

‘You didn’t know that?’ Happy asked, shocked, his eyes as wide as saucers. ‘Oh.’

‘Er, Happy?’ Carla put in. She lowered her and Wendy’s height down to the other two’s. Wendy waved a hand in front of Lucy’s face. ‘I think you might’ve broke her.’

 

For such strange circumstances, Natsu felt oddly at peace and calm. It wasn’t necessarily that he was happy, but he wasn’t sad either; somewhere in between where there was just quiet. Acceptance, Lucy would’ve called it. Though Natsu didn’t think he’d quite accepted the situation either. He was sure that Lucy would have some long winded explanation. 

The pinkette sat in one of the lone trees dotting the landscape. Below him, rows of waving golden grass flooded the ground to as far as he could see, past the other trees and swimming towards the orange and blue horizon, dotted with puffy white clouds.

His tree was the tallest of all, chosen for that reason and the heavily blooming flowers, occasionally breaking free to decorate the grass. Natsu sat, playing with one in his fingers, as he waited, swinging his legs under the branch like a small child.

‘Why am I so nervous?’ he muttered to himself, poking a petal on the flower.

It was true, something danced inside his stomach, as soft as the flower in his hands, brushing against his insides, creating a sick feeling different to that of his motion sickness. This weird sick feel actually made him excited. 

Yeah, he was probably really sick. Now that he thought about it, he'd probably been ill all week. It would explain everything he’d been feeling. Wouldn’t it?

Natsu looked up into the sky for a moving figure of white or blue, each carrying a separate figure of blue or white. Blue and white did, in fact, dominate, but were still; the sky spread out before him like a wide stage, and the clouds its performers. 

Natsu stared for longer than he could count. Somewhere around two hundred and sixty, he forgot where he was up to and gave up. It didn’t matter either way. 

Shapes began to descend. He watched them. Happy, with Lucy safely in his clutches, and Carla, with Wendy in her grasp. They landed mere paces from the tree where he perched. A smile formed without his knowledge, but he allowed it to remain there.

Wendy looked as delicate as the flowers in the trees; a pink dress and shoes, dainty white gloves and her hair pulled up into two pigtails, a curled length hanging on either side of her face. Her petite body was held gentle and with poise, like the proper young lady that Wendy was. She was holding a leather bound, gold enthralled book in her small arms. 

Lucy … Oh man.

Natsu - though he would never admit it, not even to himself - had been dying to see Lucy in the dress he’d retrieved from the Heartfilia mansion. The wait, he informed himself, was worth it.

The dress fit perfectly, holding her waist tightly and folding around her chest just enough so it was held up, and the off shoulder bands falling delicately against her upper arms. Below the waist, the folds of the skirt rolled, one after the other, into a sea of silver and white. Every time Lucy moved, the sunlight bounced off hidden gems and blinded Natsu once more.

Even without the dress, the stellar mage would’ve blown him away. Her hair was more intricately done up then he’d ever seen it; a low bun falling against her neck, neat and tidy. A gauze veil attached to the top of her head and falling over her shoulders, down her back. She wore spectacularly applied makeup, but in Natsu’s opinion, she didn’t need it. She never did. 

Natsu slipped off the tree branch not-so-delicately, landing hard in the waist length grass. He walked over, slowly, to keep the rushing sensation in his stomach at bay.

‘Hey,’ he said, casual as ever, while inside he was exploding.

‘Hey,’ Lucy bit her lip, darting her eyes from the tree, to Wendy, to the grass, to his attire; as long as they didn’t linger in one place for over a second.

To be honest, the outfit wasn't his idea. The crisp white suit was Wendy’s suggestion. It wasn’t anything special, and wasn’t even particularly expensive, but Wendy had insisted that to make Lucy’s final days extra perfect. Natsu was just pleased it worked well with his scarf. He didn’t know what he would’ve done if the two items didn’t match.

Lucy still would not look him in the eye. Her cheeks were rosy red, though whether it was a true blush or makeup, it was hard to tell; Natsu didn’t know that much about those girly things. 

He caught Wendy and Carla’s eyes on him over the blonde’s shoulder and Happy’s eyes from above her head; they were all glaring at him and gesturing to Lucy. Natsu was suddenly a lot more afraid of those three than he was the jumping jax in his tummy.

‘Luce?’ he asked, touching her arm lightly. 

She jumped, but he ensnared her eyes before she could pull away; he trapped her.

‘Mm?’ 

Perhaps it was meant to be a question, but a squeak would be synonymous with the sound she made. Natsu chuckled. 

‘You okay?’ he raised an eyebrow.

‘F-fine!’ Lucy yelped. Then she winced and Natsu’s smile dropped. ‘I’m fine. I promise.’

Natsu’s shoulder dropped as he looked at her lowered head. Happy saw what was going on and made a move; he released Lucy and she fell with a squeal the final few feet to the ground. An inch before she made contact, she was caught. A pair of strong hands gripped her biceps, holding her firmly yet gently, fingers pressed securely into her skin as she was lowered down and cradled carefully. 

‘Happy!’ Natsu shouted. ‘What was that for?’

‘Too much awkwardness!’ Happy cried out, flying quickly back to Wendy and Carla who nodded solemnly in agreement. 

Natsu sweat dropped; so much for friendly support. 

‘Natsu?’

The dragon slayer looked down at the blonde clutched to his chest, tightly held to keep her upright, ‘Yeah?’

Lucy dropped her head against his chest, and for a moment Natsu was afraid she wouldn’t find a heartbeat there; he felt like his heart had completely stopped.

_ Dammit, Lucy, what the hell do you do to me? _

Lucy continued like she hadn’t felt him stiffen, ‘Why? Why’d you do this? You don’t have to. It was … It was a girl’s wish; a fairytale dream. I never would’ve expected you to do this, just to make me happy. It won’t make me happy if you force yourself to do something you don’t wanna do.’

Natsu’s teeth clenched together, his fangs barred. He closed his eyes as his unruly mop of hair fell over his face in a dark shadow. He hugged Lucy closer to him, startling the stellar mage and causing her eyes to widen as she felt herself pressed up closer to the dragon slayer.

‘You didn’t force me to do anything. I wanted to. Lucy, I promised you; I promised you that I would make this week the best of your entire life. And you know what, Luce?’ Lucy trembled; his voice had cracked. Was he on the edge of tears? ‘I think this was the best week of my life, too.’

He pulled back, hanging onto her shoulders, allowing the tips of her shoes to brush the ground. Lucy thought that the grip on his arms should’ve hurt, the way he was holding her. But his touch was far too gentle and his arms far too strong. She saw his face, smiling and wet eyed, and nearly began to cry also. 

‘Besides, if there was one thing I was going to back out of,’ Natsu cracked a lopsided grin, ‘it would’ve been the skydiving. You know how much I suffered on that magic flier because of you?’

Lucy felt her chest burst in a half-laugh half-sob. A stray tear escape her lashes and curled down her cheek. Unable to release her arms, Natsu leaned forward and caught it on his nose. Shaking his head, he flicked it off.

‘You wanted to marry someone you love,’ he said lowly, his voice but a breath. ‘There’s no magic I can use to make that happen. But … I hope I’m an okay substitute.’

‘B-baka,’ Lucy sniffed. ‘You could never be a substitute.’

Natsu tightened his jaw to keep his bottom lip from shaking, forcing a smile to hold back tears.

‘Thanks, Lucy.’ 

 

Wendy had never commissioned a wedding before - she wasn’t even qualified - but the old leather book from the Magnolia library would have to do. Wendy flipped it open to a marked page where a few chosen words of a normal ceremony were written in curled, brown letters on the aging parchment.

Wendy curled her lips in, holding back a smile; this was, without a doubt, the oddest wedding that would ever take place.

Natsu and Lucy sat comfortably, side by side, on the lowest branch of the tree, the blonde leaning up against Natsu for stability and support. Natsu’s arm was tucked around her, diagonally stretching from her shoulder and against his down to her waist. Lucy’s mother’s dress was folded neatly under her, her lifeless and pale legs hanging like crystalline dipped lanterns.

Wendy, Carla and Happy lined up below them in the grass, an exceed on either side of the dragon slayer. The young girl smiled up sweetly at the couple in the tree.

‘Are you ready?’ she asked politely.

Natsu grinned, ‘Yeah, thanks, Wendy. Luce?’

Lucy nodded tiredly, her head bobbing against his shoulder and cheek, ‘Yeah.’

‘Okay then,’ Wendy breathed deeply and, casting her gaze down, recited the words bled lovingly onto the page.

Wendy had practiced; the words came to her easily and flowed, just as she hoped the would. Speaking of togetherness and love, Wendy poured herself into the book as fluently as she would her magic into an injured comrade.

_ If only I could save Lucy-san … _

The passage was short and sweet, and not the entirety of a proper marriage ceremony, but it was enough for Natsu and Lucy. Wendy cast a glance up at the end of a line to take a breath and smiled at the sight before her.

Lucy wore a beam so large it nearly leapt off her tear streaked face. Her hands were clasped so tightly in her lap that her knuckles turned white. Natsu’s hand that wasn’t gripping her waist to him, lay atop hers. She was staring straight ahead, and he at her. There scents were intermingling. 

Wendy’s eyes flicked back down, sheltering a secret smile of utter happiness. Tears sprung behind her eyes. She blinked them back.

‘Natsu-sa- I mean, Natsu Dragneel,’ Wendy caught herself, ‘do you take Lucy Heartfilia for your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?’

‘Hell yeah,’ Natsu grinned. Lucy facepalmed, making herself cry harder.

Wendy suppressed a chuckle, ‘Lucy Heartfilia, do you take Natsu Dragneel for your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honour, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?’

‘Y-yes! Lucy sobbed. Natsu squeezed her waist and she fell against his shoulder in a blubbery mess. 

Wendy read aloud from the book, ‘Natsu-san, please repeat after me; I, Natsu Dragneel-’

‘I, Natsu Dragneel,’ the pinkette said.

‘Take thee, Lucy Heartfilia-’

‘Take thee, Lucy Heartfilia,’ Natsu smiled at a hiccuping Lucy.

‘to be my wedded wife,’ Wendy announced, professional in all but name, ‘to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honour, and cherish, 'til death do us part, and thereto I plight thee my troth.’

Natsu repeated the lines without hesitation. His smile grew just a little brighter and he aimed it at Wendy was caught his eye and returned it.

‘Lucy-san,’ Wendy said gently. ‘It’s your turn. Please repeat after me; I, Lucy Heartfilia-’

‘I-I, L-Lucy Heartf-filia-’

‘Take thee, Natsu Dragneel-’

‘T-Take th-thee, Nat-tsu, Drag-neel-’

‘to be my wedded husband,’ Wendy finished.

Lucy repeated the bluenette’s words in between bouts of happy tears. Smiling, Wendy continued, reciting the same lines for the blonde. Lucy said each line with a hiccup. Somewhere along the line, without anyone noticing, she’d grabbed Natsu’s hand. She held tightly onto his fingers, causing the dragon slayer to chuckle.

Wendy breathed in, smelling the combination of their scents; Lucy, as Natsu had always told her, did indeed smell like vanilla and strawberries. Natsu, though, couldn’t smell his own scent; ashes and crisp air, fresher than Wendy had ever had the luck to inhale. 

_ What an interesting combination _ , Wendy wondered absently, sucking in once more than mix of smells that graced her nose.  _ It’s so beautiful _ . 

‘Natsu,’ Happy hissed from the sidelines. The dragon slayer blinked, focusing on his lifelong partner, ‘It’s your part!’

Natsu frowned, ‘It is?’

Carla sighed, shaking her head with a paw on her forehead, ‘The ring, idiot.’

Natsu thought a moment, struggling to remember, before it came back to him with a goofy grin, ‘Oh yeah!’

Lucy laughed in a single breath, quieting down.

_ This isn’t how I dreamed I would get married _ , she thought, smiling.  _ It’s better _ .

The entire assembled group fell silent as Natsu dug and tiny ovular object from his back pocket; a crudely shaped ring that looked more painted gold than made of it. Scratched in letters spelled out ‘Natsu and Lucy’ in horrible handwriting. Lucy had never laid eyes on anything more beautiful.

‘With this ring I thee wed,’ Natsu was so glad he’d practiced this stuff with Wendy earlier in the week. ‘Wear it as a symbol of our love and commitment.’

Needing two hands, Natsu shifted Lucy up against him so his shoulder took her weight. He picked up her guild marked hand in his and slipped the ring gingerly onto her finger. Lucy was almost in tears,  _ again _ . Natsu had never liked seeing Lucy cry, but these happy tears would be the only exception to that unwritten rule.

‘Lucy-san!’ Wendy whispered, reaching up with her palm outstretched. ‘Here!’

‘A-arigatoo, Wendy,’ Lucy sniffled. In trembling fingers, she picked up the identical ring and turned to the pinkette, shaking, ‘W-with this r-ring I thee w-wed,’ she stumbled over her words, sobs echoing in her words. ‘W-wear it as a s-symbol of o-our l-love and commit-m-ment.’

Wendy watched the exchange with bated breath and when they were done, she announced, ‘You may now seal the promises you have made with each other with a kiss.’

Lucy squeaked. She may have forgotten that part. Natsu tipped his head sideways at her curiously, folding a firmer grip on her hand.

‘What’s up?’ he asked. ‘You okay?’ 

Lucy began to nod, but halfway the motion shifted and she shook her head. Biting her lip, her shoulders shook. Natsu’s chest tightened as he recognized the subtle shift from happy tears to sad ones.

‘Hey?’ he squeezed her shoulder in alarm. ‘Tell me what’s wrong?’

‘You did all this for me,’ she whispered, silent tears leaking from her eyes. ‘And all I can do in return, is just … die.’

Natsu swallowed; there was a lump in his throat that stuck there, no matter how hard he tried to push it down. 

The wind wasn’t breathing; it held its breath, held its breeze. It made the grassy plains silent; even the leaves were still. Wendy, Carla and Happy moved together to watch, but none dared interrupt. 

Natsu tugged Lucy into a tight embrace. He sifted an arm underneath her legs and pulled her up onto his lap, easily staring into her eyes. Lucy’s body was wracked with sobs, her entire upper half numb while her lower half ceased to exist. She looked into the eyes of the dragon slayer with a dragon sized heart and cried.

‘Don’t  _ ever _ say that,’ he commanded. ‘Lucy, I didn’t do this because I felt like I had to make it up to you. I didn’t do it because it was the right thing to do. It wasn’t anything like that. I  _ wanted _ to, Lucy, I  _ wanted _ to. You're more precious to me than I thought anyone but Igneel could be. Me an’ Happy … we both wanted to. You gotta understand, Luce.’

Lucy hiccuped, ‘Natsu.’

Out of nowhere, the pinkette suddenly grinned and leaned forward and breathed into her ear, ‘I don’t know if it’s too late or not, but you know … I think I might love you too.’

Lucy face instantly darkened, her eyes popping wide, ‘Y-you heard that?!’

Natsu shook his head, chuckling, ‘You underestimated a dragon’s hearing? Damn, Luce, I thought you knew better.’

Lucy blushed deeply and looked up at him under her lashes. Natsu leaned forward slowly, tipping his head forward until it bumped Lucy’s softly. He couldn’t resist anymore, raising a hand to touch her beautiful cheek. Lucy shuddered at his unexpectedly gentle touch. Tears had gathered but waited to fall, patiently, before Natsu wiped them away with his thumb. 

‘Now that’s clear, I think our celebrant,’ Natsu winked at Wendy who shot them a thumbs up and a toothy grin, ‘gave us an instruction.’ 

Chocolate and onyx, brown and black; the two darkest colours became the brightest. Lucy, hesitant at first, comforted herself in the knowledge that this love was no longer one sided; she was loved in return. Natsu saw the too large space between them and closed it, not wanting it to exist for a second longer.

For all the book she had read and all the romance scenes she had squealed over, waiting and wishing for the same to happen to her, Lucy was wrong. There was no passion, no sparks and no melting feeling; there was nothing like that. This kiss was nothing like she’d read. Lucy didn’t know the feeling’s name, if it had one, and there was only one thing it came close to. 

_ Love _ .

That was the name Lucy chose to put to this feeling; it was the only one that fit. Being close to the pinkette had never felt so  _ right _ more than it did now. 

Natsu’s hands were lowered on either side of her, clutching her waist and keeping her from falling, just as he always did. Lucy felt, but did not see him pull her just a little closer, and when she felt safe enough, her hands lifted themselves to touch his cheeks. 

Lucy’s fingers played against Natsu’s face, softly like the guitar she strummed so expertly only a few days before. The gentleness of her skin caused him to sigh into the kiss. Natsu had no idea how kissing worked, but this was pretty good, in his opinion. 

The feeling of holding a tiny little Lucy in his large arms made him happier than he knew he could be. He felt like he could protect her - from anything. From enemies, other boys, even this stupid injury. He would hold her until his fire forced it all away, and he would keeping holding her forever.

_ Strawberry _ , Natsu thought through a fogged up brain, tasting Lucy’s lips. 

After a long, beautiful moment, the blonde began to pull away. Natsu chased her, but she snuck a finger between their lips and he opened his eyes. Her’s were dry and sparkled with stars, her smile bigger than the world. She dropped her hand, but Natsu only stared.

Was this phenomenal, perfect creature really his, as long as they both shall live?

‘I don’t think, anymore,’ she murmured dreamily, resting her forehead on his. ‘I know; I know I love you.’

Natsu wrapped his warm arms around her and she leaned back into his steady arms, confidence in him already at its max; she trusted him to hold her and not to let her fall. 

‘I know I love you too,’ he replied simply.

They smiled into the next kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "... well I've had just enough time."

‘Oh, oh!’ Lucy giggled softly. ‘That one looks like Happy, ne?’

‘M-me?’ Happy gasped. The blue cat squinted up at the sky. ‘Does not! It looks more like … Carla!’

Carla rolled her eyes, trying to decorate her smile with a forced quality. Unfortunately, the smile was far too genuine and the exceed gave up, with a huff. Wendy shook her head, laughing carefreely, as she cradled her best friend and constant companion in her lap.

‘It doesn’t look like me,’ Carla scoffed. ‘It's just a big blob.’

‘Alright, alright!’ Natsu interrupted, raising the hand that wasn’t around his newlywed wife in a placating gesture. ‘How ‘bout we all agree that the cloud looks like an _exceed_?’

Wendy nodded, nipping the inside of her cheek to hold back a grin, ‘Sounds good to me, Natsu-san.’

They were, by far, the oddest family that any misplaced passerby would ever have the strangest luck of spotting; a pink haired man, a blonde haired woman, a blue haired girl, one white talking cat and one blue. The oddity of it all traced serene smiles on their faces as they cloud watched the afternoon away beneath their sweet little, flower filled tree. It was a small time of peace and tranquility before returning to the hustle and bustle of reality which surely awaited their return eagerly.

‘Hey, Luce, what’s that one look like?’

‘Hmm,’ Lucy tapped her chin thoughtfully. After a quiet moment in which the gentle breeze of the grassy world dominated, Lucy shrugged and snuggled into the dragon slayer’s - her husband’s - chest, feeling the warmth that radiated off him. ‘I dunno.’

Natsu kissed the top of her head gently, then let his hand rest in her hair as he straightened up. Lucy yawned, her eyes fluttering sleepily.

Wendy watched the exchange, her hands tightly clenched together close to her heart, a squeal hibernating in her chest. She shushed Happy when he tried to speak, so harshly that Carla began to laugh, rolling off the bluenette’s lap and into the long grass where she practically disappeared.

Natsu and Lucy looked up at the other three curiously with raised eyebrows.

Wendy’s eyes widened, ‘Uh, don’t mind us, please! Keep doing, whatever you’re doing!’

Silence. The newlywed couple exchanged a slow look of confusion with each other, then with Wendy, Happy and a white exceed fighting the grass. They both pushed their mouths shut, but failed to contain laughter. It burst free in a happy torrent, sailing across their private space. Soon after, the other three joined in.

Natsu’s chest rumbled with chuckles, shoulders bouncing. His eyes were shut and his face pulled into a giant beam.

It ended suddenly; cruelly.

Lucy seized up in Natsu’s lap. Laughter caught in her throat, transforming instantly to a wheeze as her lungs denied oxygen entry. Her body went rigid, a gasp pulling into her, short and sharp. In less than a second, no one was laughing anymore.

‘Lucy!’ Natsu shouted.

The pinkette worriedly tipped her onto the ground, laying her down. He stared down at his hands, heart racing. What was he supposed to do?

‘Natsu-san, please move out of the way!’

Wendy was suddenly behind him with a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he never missed the urgency tainting her voice, nor the alarm in her warm brown eyes. Natsu jumped back, hovering over them all worriedly.

Sprouting his wings, Happy took flight, soaring briefly in the air before colliding with Natsu’s shoulder and hanging there. His wings flashed out of existence.

‘Natsu,’ he whimpered. ‘Lushee’s not gonna die, right?’

‘O-of course not!’ said the dragon slayer.

Wendy wasn’t so sure. Beneath her glowing palms, Lucy was struggling for breath. The bluenette worked her up into an upright position, hoping to drain some of the blood out, but the coughing and spluttering continued.

‘Na-tsu,’ she managed after several tries. Her eyes glistened with tears and pain. ‘I’m sc-scared.’

Lucy twitched, her hands hands curling into fists in the thick grass. A spurt of blood splashed from her mouth and all over her chin, trickling down her face. Droplets fell free on the beautiful gown she wore. The white was stained with ugly drops of red, like innocence stained with pain.

Suddenly the quiet of the plains was more like the echo of silence after a death sentence. And it killed all of them to sit and watch.

‘I’m scared too,’ Natsu promised. ‘We can be scared together, okay? I know your scared, Lucy, but just hold on, please!’

Natsu chest was heavy. His head was spinning like he was on a train. Behind his eyes, something burned. Lucy was his now, so she couldn’t die. The fairy tales said happily ever after, right? That meant forever, right? Tears broke free and wound their way down his cheeks.

‘Please live, Lucy,’ he whispered in a crackling voice.

Twisting her face grotesquely, Lucy felt her throat burn, slick and hot with the taste of blood. It spilled out of her mouth, dribbling down her face. She wanted to scream, but could only cough and choke. She was dying, this was it, she was dying.

Natsu dropped to his knees, Happy falling with him. For the first time that week, Happy wasn’t  crying. Shock was the only emotion that ruled him right now, and shock was what filled his eyes. Lucy couldn’t die. It was impossible.

‘It’s not working!’ Wendy cried. ‘Lucy, please!’

Wendy could feel the rush of blood flooding in Lucy’s lungs, clogging up and disrupting her breathing. The gentle rain of her magic pushed the red tidal wave from her organs, only for it to return full force. The trauma seemed to have had enough of Wendy’s interference and was fighting back.

‘Luce, you can’t go anywhere!’

‘Lushee!’

‘Lucy, hold on a little longer. Wendy?’

The blonde was losing the ability to stay conscious. There was a pull, deep in her chest, like she was caught on a fishing hook, and it was pulling her away. Her friends sensed it too.

‘You can’t leave! You just can’t!’ Natsu cried. ‘We just got married! You have to stay!’

All hopes of being strong for her evaporated instantly. Flames burned in his belly, making him uncomfortable and ill. Natsu’s begun to steam, evaporating his tears as soon as they touched his skin; he was on fire, both inside and out. He squeezed Lucy’s hand as she coughed, startlingly red blood splattering on his hand.

‘Whose house will Happy and I crash at if you go? Who’ll go on missions with us?’ Natsu sobbed. ‘I _need_ you, Lucy! I need you to tell me stuff.’

Happy clutched onto Natsu and Lucy’s entwined hands, hiccuping intensely through his own tears, ‘Natsu.’

The dragon slayer didn’t hear.

‘I need you to tell me why I look at you like I can’t stop!’ he continued. Lucy was crying, tears mingling with blood, turning the air salty and metallic. ‘I need you to tell my your scent drives me crazy! I need you to tell me why I feel like I have to make you happy, _so bad_ . I don’t know stuff, Luce! I’m an idiot, just like you say! How am I supposed to know stuff if the smartest girl I know isn’t there anymore? Lucy, I _need_ you here! You can’t leave me! I lost Igneel, I don’t wanna lose anyone else from my family!’

Wendy pushed her magic harder, tears pouring. The blue glow burned bright then winked softly before returning in full intensity. Sweat slipped from her brow, becoming indistinguishable from the tears that wrapped around her cheeks.

Carla was by her side, too saddened to say; to tell them inevitable future she had desperately spent the week searched for a way around.

 _Please_ , Wendy begged of her magic. _Be stronger! Lucy-san needs to live!_

Pressure on Natsu’s hand. Lucy fingers squeezed, instantly capturing his attention. Natsu opened his mouth to speak, but only a sob escaped.

Suddenly, _tug_ ; Lucy pulled on his hand and he collapsed across her chest, pushing out another round of blood and a dozen coughs. Terrified, Natsu moved off her, but Lucy’s grip was rough. She touched his face.

‘Lucy …’

Lucy’s eyes were far from bright, dull mud brown in her eyes. ‘One,’ she whispered.

And she kissed him, one more time.

She was struggling for air. Lucy felt blood entering her lungs alarmingly, drowning her from the inside out. She wasn’t breathing properly. Her back arched, body pushing for the air that would never come, yet she forced herself to remain with her lips on her love’s. She would not let him leave her side, not now, not ever again.

‘Lucy!’ Wendy, Carla and Happy cried.

Natsu tried; he tried pulling away. Lucy’s hold on his face was strong, and he felt so weak. He was crying, she was crying, they were all crying. Tears floated away on the wind that whipped stronger and stronger, until finally, it carried her spirit away.

Lucy’s hand fell limp and her lips went slack. Blood spilled and trickled down her cheek as a cough turned into her last breath. Her eyes closed for the last time as a whisper of the breeze called her away, standing her and lifting her up, never to be seen again. Her body lay, abandoned, on the ground below, beneath the flowering tree where she gotten married on her death day.

Natsu could move now, but he didn’t. Not for a long time. And when he did it was only to scream. Throwing back his head, he roared at the sky; the cloudless sky. The sun and the clear day was mocking them. A growl penetrated deep from within his chest, his voice cracking where tears still lingered as a lump in his throat.

‘GIVE HER BACK!’

 

It was on odd thing - a curious thing - to say goodbye. The overwhelming sense of loss and despair, and the tears falling from faces, were not good in any way.

Warm sunlight spilled across the churchyard and the neat array of carved headstones. Dressed in formal black attires, those who attended Lucy Heartfilia’s funeral were bathed in the golden hue that the sun provided. Rays of gold everywhere, like a head of blonde falling directly from the heavens.

Right then and there, Natsu wanted to destroy the sun. How dare such a perfect, burning star shine so arrogantly in the sky, when the brightest, most perfect star of all had fallen?

A firm hand pressed against his shoulder, and Natsu shut his eyes to the sun’s light.

‘What do you want?’ he asked. The anger he’d thought - he’d hoped - was evident in his tone, came out as a bitter snap, and the resounding crack in his voice defeated him.

Erza was silent for a moment, ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’

‘Are you just going to yap on about us not telling you?’

‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ the requip mage repeated, raising her voice a little higher.

‘Lucy is dead!’ Natsu screamed at her; his words slipped into a sob. ‘Lucy is dead, and all you can think about is why we didn’t tell you? Didn’t you care at all?’

Erza’s fingers dug into his shoulder, ‘Of course we cared! Didn’t you? Didn’t you think that we had the right to know that our friend was dying? Who are you to decide who could and couldn’t know? I get that the words are hard to get out, Natsu, but Lucy was our friend too! She wasn’t yours alone. You were all selfish. You lied to us! Lucy lied to us!’

The shouting had risen to an all time high, and many of the guests had already begun to file out, shooting Natsu and Erza wayward looks past the gate. The Fairy Tail mages lingered the longest, until they too made their way back into town. Only Lucy’s closest friends remained behind.

‘Don’t you dare blame Lucy!’ Natsu roared at the redhead. ‘None of this was her fault!’

A small, shaking voice wormed its way between the two of them, ‘Natsu-san, Erza-san… please, stop this…’

‘She shouldn’t have been dying!’ Natsu cried out, ignoring Wendy and directing his words at Erza. ‘It was me; it was my fault. I failed to protect her; I failed to save her. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I should’ve died, not her.’

And then he was on his knees, shivering and shaking violently in Erza’s embrace, sobbing openly as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Wendy went down with them as her legs lost the ability to hold up her shaking body, wracked with sobs.

Gray and Gajeel stood nearby solemnly. Mira, Lisanna and Levy cried into handkerchiefs, numbly comforted by the exceeds who sobbed themselves. Not saying a word, bowing his head at Lucy’s tombstone, Master Makarov stood frozen.

‘Shh,’ Erza hummed. She had nothing else to say.

‘My fault,’ Natsu repeated dazedly. ‘My fault. My fault. My fault.’

There was nothing any of the grieving wizards could say to help comfort the fire dragon slayer too deep in his own misery and self-loathing. As they finally began to depart, one by one, Wendy snuggled into the embrace of Natsu and Erza, crying with them. Two wizards with the power of mighty dragons, reduced to being there as their friend deteriorated and suffered while all they could do was watch and wait. It was irony in its cruelest form.

 

As the sun went away, so did Natsu’s tears. He sat alone in the graveyard, dried eyed, in front of Lucy’s tombstone, tracing the letters ingrained in stone with his gaze until he’d memorised their shape, enough to see the words beneath closed eyelids.

_Here lies Lucy Heartfilia._

_X767 - X792_

_Devoted daughter, caring friend, Celestial Wizard and Fairy Tail mage._

Natsu was unsatisfied. The inscription was missing something important. He frowned, and with one finger burning a thousand degrees, the fire mage leaned over and messily scorched one last title into the stone.

 _And wonderful wife_.

‘There,’ he muttered to himself. He played with the ring on his finger. ‘No one will forget you.’

‘Natsu?’

Happy had approached silently and without warning, but something about his presence didn’t startle Natsu. Instead, he found it calming. With the heaviness of his heart weighing down his chest, the lightness of his furry friend was welcome. The smell of seasalt - of something familiar and friendly - poured over his senses.

‘Yeah, Happy?’ Natsu gave his partner a tiny smile. ‘What is it?’

Happy swallowed, ‘Well, uh, now that Lucy’s … gone … you don’t really need to wear the ring anymore, right? You finished the list and made her happy.’

‘But you see, Happy. I made a promise: “as long as we both shall live”,’ Natsu recited. A loving spark lit up his eyes, and Happy could see that more had happened than making Lucy happy; Natsu himself had inadvertently made himself happier than he’d ever been before.

‘I really love Lucy,’ he continued, tapping a finger against the ring. ‘I meant everything I said. I can’t dishonour her memory by breaking my promise. I’ll love her until the day I die. And I won’t let anyone forget her.’

‘No one is going to,’ Happy assured. ‘She changed us all too much.’

‘Yeah,’ Natsu agreed. ‘That she did.’

Apparently, that was the end of the conversation. As Natsu stared back emptily into Lucy’s grave, Happy took his leave up into the sky, soaring above Magnolia. Surprised as he was that his wings would still bear his weight with the stone in his chest, Happy still enjoyed the relaxing reprieve and the quiet solitude as he mulled over the loss of another mother.

Happy was sad. No matter what Lucy had told him, he was unfathomably sad, and he didn’t think it would ever go away, but he remember Lucy’s words and felt braver.

_‘I was very sad, for a long time, but it got better. It’s gonna get better, Happy.’_

‘It’s gonna get better,’ Happy told himself, repeating the celestial wizard’s wise words. ‘It’ll get better.’

The wind whispered past him, a strong current above the city that tickled Happy’s extended wings. Far from the breeze that had accompanied him thus far, this one was gentle and warm, like a loving embrace, and it held Happy tight.

 _Take care of him for me, Happy_.

Lucy was never going to leave, Happy realised. As long as they remembered her, and as long as she lived in their hearts, she was never going to die. Magnolia would remember the strong celestial wizard, and she would live forever.

‘Aye,’ he promised the wind, and he felt her smile. ‘I will.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who made it this far! Apologies for the lack of happy ending, but I DID warn you in the beginning, huh? It's been a short story, but thanks for hanging out with me anyway! This isn't the first fanfic I've written, but it IS the first I've published on AO3, so I would absolutely ADORE feedback; I love comments! I won't stretch this on, but definitely think about subscribbing to me if you'd like more like this; I have a few things in the works that I can't wait to put out there. Thank you once again, and keep enjoying Fairy Tail! <3


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